Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi

Talk 151

2008-02-04T18:02:00.000+05:30

31st January, 1936

Talk 151.

The American gentleman is a little hard of hearing. Being accustomed to be self-reliant from his youth he naturally feels worried on account of his hearing becoming defective.

Maharshi.: You were not self-reliant; you were ego-reliant. It is good that ego-reliance is banished and that you become truly Self-reliant.

Again Bhagavan said: "There is no cause for worry. Subjugation of senses is a necessary preliminary for Self-Realisation. One sense is subdued for you by God Himself. So much the better."

The questioner said that he appreciated the humour, but that still his self-respect suffered.

Maharshi: The Self is only one. Do you feel hurt if you blame yourself or scorn yourself for your errors? If you hold the Self there is no second person to scorn you.

When you see the world you have lost hold of the Self. On the contrary, hold the Self and the world will not appear.

Talk 150

2008-02-02T20:38:00.000+05:30

28th January, 1936

Talk 150.

Mrs. and Mr. Kelly, an elderly couple from America, and others of their company desired to know what they should do to gain concentration in face of discomforts of sitting and the sting of mosquitoes, etc.
Maharshi.: The discomforts will not worry you if your concentration is right.

Do not mind the discomforts. Keep your mind steady in meditation. If you have not the strength and endurance to bear mosquito stings how do you hope to gain realisation of the Self?

Realisation must be amidst all the turmoils of life. If you make yourself comfortable and go to bed you fall asleep. Face the troubles but keep yourself steady in meditation.

Talk 149

2007-08-20T10:07:00.001+05:30

28th January, 1936
Talk 149.

In reply to a sadhu ^[?] who asked if bhakti ^[?] consisted in forgetting the body, etc. Sri Bhagavan said:
"What do you care for the body? Practise bhakti and don't worry about what happens to the body."

Talk 148 Talk 150

Talk 148

2007-08-19T09:07:00.001+05:30

27th January, 1936
Talk 148.

A Gujerati gentleman said that he was concentrating on sound - nada ^[?] - and desired to know if the method was right.

Maharshi: Meditation on nada is one of the several approved methods.
The adherents claim a very special virtue for the method. According to them it is the easiest and the most direct method. Just as a child is lulled to sleep by lullabies, so nada soothes one to the state of samadhi; again just as a king sends his state musicians to welcome his son on his return from a long journey, so also nada takes the devotee into the Lord's Abode in a pleasing manner. Nada ^[?] helps concentration. After it is felt the practice should not be made an end in itself. Nada is not the objective; the subject should firmly be held; otherwise a blank will result. Though the subject is there even in the blank he would not be aware of the cessation of nada of different kinds. In order to be aware even in that blank one must remember his own self. Nada upasana (meditation on sound) is good; it is
better if associated with investigation (vichara ^[?]). In that case the nada is made up of chinmaya ^[?] and also tanmaya ^[?] (of Knowledge and of Self). Nada helps concentration.

Talk 147 Talk 149

Talk 147

2007-08-18T10:07:00.001+05:30

26th January, 1936
Talk 147.

In answer to a Canarese Sanyasi, Sri Bhagavan said: There are different grades of mind. Realisation is of Perfection. It cannot be comprehended by the mind. Sarvajnatva (the state of all-knowing) is to be sarvam (the all); `the all' pertains only to the mind. The known and unknown together form `the all'. After transcending the mind you remain as the Self. The present knowledge is only of limitation. That Knowledge is unlimited. Being so it cannot be comprehended by this knowledge. Cease to be a knower, then there is perfection.

Talk 146 Talk 148

Talk 146

2007-08-17T10:07:00.001+05:30

26th January, 1936
Talk 146.

In reply to Miss Leena Sarabhai, a cultured Indian lady of high rank, Sri Bhagavan said: The state of equanimity is the state of bliss. The declaration in the Vedas `I am This or That', is only an aid to gain equanimity of mind.
D.: So, it is wrong to begin with a goal: is it?

Maharshi: If there be a goal to be reached it cannot be permanent. The goal must already be there. We seek to reach the goal with the ego, but the goal exists before the ego. What is in the goal is even prior to our birth, i.e., to the birth of the ego. Because we exist the ego appears to exist too. If we look on the Self as the ego then we become the ego, if as the mind we become the mind, if as the body we become the body. It is the thought which builds up sheaths in so many ways. The shadow on the water is found to be shaking. Can anyone stop the shaking of the shadow? If it should cease to shake you would not notice the water but only the light. Similarly to take no notice of the ego and its activities, but see only the light behind. The ego is the I-thought. The true `I' is the Self.
D.: It is one step to realisation.

Maharshi: Realisation is already there. The state free from thoughts is the only real state. There is no such action as Realisation. Is there anyone who is not realising the Self? Does anyone deny his own existence? Speaking of realisation, it implies two selves - the one to realise, the other to be realised. What is not already realised, is sought to be realised. Once we admit our existence, how is it that we do not know our Self?
D.: Because of the thoughts - the mind.

Maharshi: Quite so. It is the mind that stands between and veils our happiness. How do we know that we exist? If you say because of the world around us, then how do you know that you existed in deep sleep?
D.: How to get rid of the mind?

Maharshi: Is it the mind that wants to kill itself? The mind cannot kill itself.
So your business is to find the real nature of the mind. Then you will know that there is no mind. When the Self is sought, the mind is nowhere. Abiding in the Self, one need not worry about the mind.
D.: How to get rid of fear?

Maharshi: What is fear? It is only a thought. If there is anything besides the Self there is reason to fear. Who sees the second (anything external)? First the ego arises and sees objects as external. If the ego does not rise, the Self alone exists and there is no second (nothing external). For anything external to oneself implies the seer within. Seeking it there will arise no doubt, no fear - not only fear, all other thoughts centred round the ego will disappear along with it.
D.: This method seems to be quicker than the usual one of cultivating qualities alleged necessary for salvation (sadhana chatushtaya)?

Maharshi: Yes. All bad qualities centre round the ego. When the ego is gone Realisation results by itself. There are neither good nor bad qualities in the Self. The Self is free from all qualities. Qualities pertain to the mind only. It is beyond quality. If there is unity, there will also be duality. The numeral one gives rise to other numbers. The truth is neither one nor two. IT is as it is.
D.: The difficulty is to be in the thought-free state.

Maharshi: Leave the thought-free state to itself. Do not think of it as pertaining to you. Just as when you walk, you involuntarily take steps, so too in your actions; but the thought-free state is not affected by your actions.
D.: What is it that is discriminative in action?

Maharshi: Discrimination will be automatic, intuitive.
D.: So Intuition alone matters; Intuition develops also.

Maharshi: Those who have discovered great Truths have done so in the still depths of the Self. The ego is like one's shadow thrown on the ground. If one attempts to bury it, it will be foolish. The Self is only one. If limited it is the ego. If unlimited it is Infinite and is the Reality. The bubbles are different from one another and numerous, but the ocean is only one. Similarly the egos are many, whereas the Self is one and only one. When told that you are not the ego, realise the Reality. Why do you still identify yourself with the ego? It is like saying, "Don't think of the monkey while taking medicine" - it is impossible. Similarly it happens with common folk. When the Reality is mentioned why do you continue to meditate Sivoham ^[?] or Aham Brahmasmi ^[?]? The significance must be traced and understood. It is not enough to repeat the bare words or think of them. Reality is simply the loss of the ego. Destroy the ego by seeking its identity. Because the ego is no entity it will automatically vanish and Reality will shine forth by itself. This is the direct method. Whereas all other methods are done, only retaining the ego. In those paths there arise so many doubts and the eternal question remains to be tackled finally. But in this method the final question is the only one and it is raised from the very beginning. No sadhanas are necessary for engaging in this quest. There is no greater mystery than this - viz., ourselves being the Reality we seek to gain Reality. We think that there is something hiding our Reality and that it must be destroyed before the Reality is gained. It is ridiculous. A day will dawn when you will yourself laugh at your past efforts. That which will be on the day you laugh is also here and now.
D.: So it is a great game of pretending?

Maharshi: Yes.
In Yoga Vasishtha it is said, "What is Real is hidden from us, but what is false, is revealed as true." We are actually experiencing the Reality only; still, we do not know it. Is it not a wonder of wonders?
The quest "Who am I??" is the axe with which to cut off the ego.

Talk 145 Talk 147

Talk 145

2007-08-16T10:07:00.001+05:30

23rd January, 1936
Talk 145.

Mr. P. Brunton: Why do religions speak of Gods, heaven, hell, etc.?

Maharshi: Only to make the people realise that they are on a par with this world and that the Self alone is real. The religions are according to the view-point of the seeker. Take the Bhagavad Gita for instance: When Arjuna said that he would not fight against his own relatives, his elders, etc., in order to kill them and gain the kingdom, Sri Krishna said, "Not that these, you or I, were not before, are not now, nor will not be hereafter. Nothing was born, nothing was dead, nor will it not be so hereafter" and so on. Later as he developed the theme and declared that He had given the same instruction to the Sun, through him to Ikshvaku, etc. Arjuna raised the doubt, "How could it be? You were born a few years ago. They lived ages ago." Then Sri Krishna understanding Arjuna's standpoint, said: "Yes. There have been so many incarnations of myself and yourself, I know them all but you do not know." Such statements appear contradictory, but still they are correct according to the viewpoint of the questioner. The Christ also declared that He was even before Abraham.
D.: What is the purpose of such descriptions in religions?

Maharshi: Only to establish the Reality of the Self.
D.: Bhagavan always speaks from the highest standpoint. Sri Bhagavan (with a smile): People would not understand the simple and bare truth - the truth of their every day, ever-present and eternal experience. That Truth is that of the Self. Is there anyone not aware of the Self? They would not even like to hear it (the Self), whereas they are eager to know what lies beyond - heaven, hell ,
reincarnation. Because they love mystery and not the bare truth, religions pamper them - only to bring them round to the Self. Wandering hither and thither you must return to the Self only. Then, why not abide in the Self even here and now? The other worlds require the Self as a spectator or speculator. Their reality is only of the same degrees as that of the spectator or thinker. They cannot exist without the spectator, etc. Therefore they are not different from the Self. Even the ignorant man sees only the Self when he sees objects. But he is confused and identifies the Self with the object, i.e., the body and with the senses and plays in the world. Subject and object - all merge in the Self. There is no seer nor objects seen. The seer and the seen are the Self. There are not many selves either. All are only one Self.

Talk 144 Talk 146

Talk 144

2007-08-15T10:07:00.001+05:30

23rd January, 1936
Talk 144.

Mr. Prakasa Rao: What is the root-cause of maya ^[?]?

Maharshi: What is maya?
D.: Maya ^[?] is wrong knowledge, illusion.

Maharshi: For whom is the illusion? There must be one to be deluded.
Illusion is ignorance. The ignorant Self sees the objects according to you. When the objects are not themselves present how can maya exist? Maya is ya ma (maya is what is not). What remains over is the true Self. If you say that you see the objects, or if you say that you do not know the Real Unity, then are there two selves, one the knower and the other the knowable object. No one will admit of two selves in himself. The awakened man says that he himself was in deep slumber but not aware. He does not say that the sleeper was different from the present one. There is only one Self. That Self is always aware. It is changeless. There is nothing but the Self.
D.: What is the astral body?

Maharshi: Do you not have a body in your dream? Is it not different from the recumbent body on the bed?
D.: Do we survive after death? Does the astral body outlive physical death?

Maharshi: Just as in dreams you wake up after several novel experiences, so also after physical death another body is found and so on.
D.: They say that the astral body lives for forty years after death.

Maharshi: In the present body you say the dream body is astral. Did you say so in the dream body? What is astral now would appear real then, the present body itself is astral according to that viewpoint. What
is the difference between one astral body and another? There is no difference between the two.
Mr. P. Brunton: There are degrees of reality.

Maharshi: To say the dream body is unreal now, and to say that this body was unreal in the dream, does not denote degrees of reality. In deep sleep there is no experience of the body at all. There is always only one and that is the Self.

Talk 143 Talk 145

Talk 143

2007-08-14T10:07:00.001+05:30

23rd January, 1936
Talk 143.

Mr. P. Brunton asked Sri Bhagavan if the Hill here is hollow.

Maharshi: The puranas say so. When it is said that the Heart is a cavity , penetration into it proves it to be an expanse of light. Similarly the Hill is one of light. The caves, etc., are covered up by the Light.
D.: Are there caves inside?

Maharshi: In visions I have seen caves, cities with streets, etc., and a whole world in it.
D.: Are there Siddhas too in it?

Maharshi: All the Siddhas are reputed to be there.
D.: Are there only Siddhas or others also?

Maharshi: Just like this world.
D.: Siddhas are said to be in the Himalayas.

Maharshi: Kailas is on the Himalayas: it is the abode of Siva. Whereas this Hill is Siva Himself. All the paraphernalia of His abode must also be where He Himself is.
D.: Does Bhagavan believe that the Hill is hollow, etc.?

Maharshi: Everything depends on the viewpoint of the individual. You yourself have seen hermitages, etc., on this Hill in a vision. You have described such in your book.
D.: Yes. It was on the surface of the Hill. The vision was within me.

Maharshi: That is exactly so. Everything is within one's Self. To see the world, there must be a spectator. There could be no world without the Self. The Self is all-comprising. In fact Self is all. There is nothing besides the Self.
D.: What is the mystery of this Hill?

Maharshi: Just as you have said in Secret Egypt, "The mystery of the pyramid is the mystery of the Self," so also the mystery of this Hill is the mystery of the Self.
Maj. Chadwick: I do not know if the Self is different from the ego.

Maharshi: How were you in your deep sleep?
D.: I do not know.

Maharshi: Who does not know? Is it not the waking Self? Do you deny your existence in your deep sleep?
D.: I was and I am; but I do not know who was in deep sleep.

Maharshi: Exactly. The man awake says that he did not know anything in the state of sleep. Now he sees the objects and knows that he is there; whereas in deep sleep there were no objects, no spectator, etc.
The same one who is now speaking was in deep sleep also. What is the difference between these two states? There are objects and play of senses now which were not in sleep. A new entity, the ego, has risen up in the meantime, it plays through the senses, sees the objects, confounds itself with the body and says that the Self is the ego. In reality, what was in deep sleep continues to exist now too. The Self is changeless. It is the ego that has come between. That which rises and sets is the ego; that which remains changeless is the Self.

Talk 142 Talk 144

Talk 142

2007-08-13T10:07:00.001+05:30

20th January, 1936
Talk 142.

Mr. Prakasa Rao from Bezwada: Does not illusion become inoperative even before identity with Brahman results (Brahmakaravritti ^[?])? Or does it persist even afterwards?

Maharshi: Illusion will not persist after vasanas are annihilated. In the interval between the knowledge of the identity and annihilation of vasanas, there will be illusion.
D.: How can the world influence a man even after identity with Brahman?

Maharshi: First do it and see. You can then raise this question, if necessary.
D.: Can we know it in the same way as we know our identity?

Maharshi: Are you different from the mind? How do you expect it to be known?
D.: Can the full scope of the Chitta ^[?] (Chittavilasa) be known?

Maharshi: Oh! Is this the identity of Brahman?
Ignorance vanishing, the residue reveals itself. It is experience, not in the category of knowledge.

Talk 141 Talk 143

Talk 141

2007-08-12T10:07:00.001+05:30

19th January, 1936
Talk 141.

The same gentleman later, after quoting a verse from Kaivalya ^[?], asked: "Can jnana be lost after being once attained?"

Maharshi: Jnana, once revealed, takes time to steady itself. The Self is certainly within the direct experience of everyone, but not as one imagines it to be. It is only as it is. This Experience is samadhi. Just as fire remains without scorching against incantations or other devices but scorches otherwise, so also the Self remains veiled by vasanas and reveals itself when there are no vasanas. Owing to the fluctuation of the vasanas, jnana takes time to steady itself. Unsteady jnana is not enough to check rebirths. Jnana cannot remain unshaken side by side with vasanas. True, that in the proximity of a great master, the vasanas will cease to be active, the mind becomes still and samadhi results, similar to fire not scorching because of other devices. Thus the disciple gains true knowledge and right experience in the presence of the master. To remain unshaken in it further efforts are necessary.
He will know it to be his real Being and thus be liberated even while alive. Samadhi with closed eyes is certainly good, but one must go further until it is realised that actionlessness and action are not hostile to each other. Fear of loss of samadhi while one is active is the sign of ignorance. Samadhi must be the natural life of everyone. There is a state beyond our efforts or effortlessness. Until it is realised effort is necessary. After tasting such Bliss, even once
one will repeatedly try to regain it. Having once experienced the Bliss of Peace no one would like to be out of it or engaged himself otherwise. It is as difficult for a Jnani ^[?] to engage in thoughts as it is for an ajnani ^[?] to be free from thought. The common man says that he does not know himself; he thinks many thoughts and cannot remain without thinking. Any kind of activity does not affect a Jnani; his mind remains ever in eternal Peace.

Talk 140 Talk 142

Talk 140

2007-08-11T10:07:00.001+05:30

19th January, 1936
Talk 140.

D.: What is reality?

Maharshi: Reality must be always real. It is not with forms and names. That which underlies these is the Reality. It underlies limitations, being itself limitless. It is not bound. It underlies unrealities, itself being real. Reality is that which is. It is as it is. It transcends speech, beyond the expressions, e.g., existence, non-existence, etc.

Talk 139 Talk 141

Talk 139

2007-08-10T11:07:00.001+05:30

19th January, 1936
Talk 139.

Mr. Ellappa Chettiar, a Member of the Legislative Council, from Salem, asked: "Is it enough to introvert the mind or should we meditate on `I am Brahman'?"

Maharshi: To introvert the mind is the prime thing. The Buddhists consider the flow of `I' thought to be Liberation; whereas we say that such flow proceeds from its underlying substratum - the only - Reality. Why should one be meditating `I am Brahman'? Only the annihilation of `I' is Liberation. But it can be gained only by keeping the `I-I' always in view. So the need for the investigation of the `I' thought. If the `I' is not let go, no blank can result to the seeker. Otherwise meditation will end in sleep. There is only one `I' all along, but what arises up from time to time is the mistaken `I-thought'; whereas the intuitive `I' always remains Self-shining, i.e., even before it becomes manifest.
The birth of the gross body does not amount to one's own birth, on the other hand, the birth of the ego is one's own birth. For liberation, nothing new remains to be gained. It is the original state and continues unchanged too.

Talk 138 Talk 140

Talk 138

2007-08-09T09:07:00.001+05:30

15th January, 1936
Talk 138.

The Financial Secretary of Mysore asked: "Is Paul Brunton's Secret
Path useful for Indians as well?"

Maharshi: Yes - for all.
D.: The body, the senses, etc. are not `I'. This is common amongst us. But how to practise it?

Maharshi: By the threefold method mentioned therein.
D.: Is breath-control necessary for enquiry?

Maharshi: Not quite.
D.: "There is a blankness intervening," it is said in the book.

Maharshi: Yes. Do not stop there. See for whom the blankness appears.
D.: For devotees there is no blankness, it is said.

Maharshi: Even there, there is the latent state, laya ^[?]; the mind wakes up after some time.
D.: What is the experience of samadhi?

Maharshi: It is as it is. For onlookers it may seem to be a swoon. Even to the practiser it may appear so in the early experiences. After a few repeated experiences it will be all right.
D.: Do they soothe nadis or do they excite them by such experiences?

Maharshi: They are excited at first. By continued experience it becomes common and the man is no longer excited.
D.: Proceeding on safe lines there should be no unpleasantness.
Excitement is uncongenial to smooth being and working.

Maharshi: A wandering mind is on the wrong way; only a devotional mind is on the right way.

Talk 137 Talk 139

Talk 137

2007-08-08T09:07:00.001+05:30

15th January, 1936
Talk 137.

Lakshman Brahmachari of Sri Ramakrishna Mission asked: "Can one imagine oneself as witness of the thoughts?"

Maharshi: It is not the natural state. It is only an idea (bhavana ^[?]) - an aid to stilling the mind. The Self is ever the witness, whether so imagined or not. There is no need to so imagine except for that purpose. But it is best to remain as one's Self.

Talk 136 Talk 138

Talk 136

2007-08-07T10:07:00.001+05:30

15th January, 1936
Talk 136.

Dr. G. H. Mees, a young Dutchman, was here for a few days. He asked Sri Bhagavan: "I have an impression that in deep sleep I have something akin to samadhi. Is it so?"

Maharshi: It is the waking `I' that asks the questions - not the `I' in sleep. If you attain the state of wakeful sleep which is the same as samadhi, while still awake, doubts will not arise.
Samadhi is one's natural state. It is the under-current in all the three states. This - that is, `I' - is not in those states, but these states are in It. If we get samadhi in our waking state that will persist in deep sleep also. The distinction between consciousness and unconsciousness belongs to the realm of mind, which is transcended by the state of the Real Self.
D.: Is the Buddhist view, that there is no continuous entity answering to
the ideas of the individual soul, correct or not? Is this consistent with the Hindu notion of a reincarnating ego? Is the soul a continuous entity which reincarnates again and again, according to the Hindu doctrine, or is it a mere mass of mental tendencies - samskaras?

Maharshi: The Real Self is continuous and unaffected. The reincarnating ego belongs to the lower plane, namely, thought. It is transcended by Self-Realisation.Reincarnations are due to a spurious offshoot. Therefore it is denied by the Buddhists. The present state is due to a mixing up of the
chit ^[?] (sentient) with jada ^[?] (insentient).

Talk 135 Talk 137

Talk 135

2007-08-06T10:07:00.001+05:30

15th January, 1936
Talk 135.

Three European ladies from the Theosophical Conference came here and asked: "Is the whole scheme, the Plan, really good? Or is it in the nature of an error, a mistake of which we have to make the best?"

Maharshi: The Plan is indeed good. The error is on our part. When we correct it in ourselves the whole scheme becomes all right.
D.: Have you any formula to teach us how to bring it about through a remembrance of what we do during sleep?

Maharshi: No formula is needed. Everyone has the experience that he slept happily and knew nothing then. Nothing else was experienced.
D.: The answer does not satisfy me. We wander in the astral plane in our sleep but we do not remember it.

Maharshi: The astral plane is concerned with dreams, not with deep sleep.
D.: What do you consider to be the cause of world suffering? And how can we help to change it, (a) as individuals? or (b) collectively?

Maharshi: Realise the Real Self. It is all that is necessary.
D.: Can we hasten our illumination for greater service? and how?

Maharshi: As we are not able to help ourselves, so we have to surrender ourselves to the Supreme completely. Then He will take care of us as well as the world.
D.: What do you consider the goal?

Maharshi: Self-Realisation.
D.: Is there any way to meet the appointed Guru for each?

Maharshi: Intense meditation brings it about.

Talk 134 Talk 136

Talk 134

2007-08-05T10:07:00.001+05:30

6th January, 1936
Talk 134.

A question about the Heart was raised.
Sri Bhagavan said that one should seek the Self and realise it. The Heart will play its part automatically. The seat of realisation is the Heart. It cannot be said to be either in or out.
D.: Did Bhagavan feel the Heart as the point of Realisation in his first or early experience?

Maharshi: I began to use the word after seeing literature on the subject. I correlated it with my experience.

Talk 133 Talk 135

Talk 133

2007-08-04T10:07:00.001+05:30

6th January, 1936
Talk 133.

There are two schools in Advaita ^[?]: (1) Drishti srishti ^[?] (simultaneous creation) and (2) Srishti drishti ^[?] (gradual creation). There is the Tantric Advaita which admits three fundamentals jagat, jiva, Isvara - world, soul, God. These three are also real. But the reality does not end with them. It extends beyond. That is the Tantric Advaita. The Reality is limitless. The three fundamentals do not exist apart from the Absolute Reality. All agree that Reality is all-pervading; thus Isvara ^[?] pervades the jiva ^[?]; therefore the jiva has eternal being. His knowledge is not limited. Limited knowledge is only imagined by him. In truth, his is infinite knowledge. Its limit is Silence. This truth was revealed by Dakshinamurti. For those who still perceive these three fundamentals they are said to be realities. They are concomitant with the ego.

True, the images of gods are described in great detail. Such description points only to the final Reality. Otherwise why is the special significance of each detail also given? Think. The image is only a symbol. Only that which lies beyond name and form is Reality.

Saiva Siddhanta and Vedanta have the common aim of the same Truth. Otherwise how could Sri Sankaracharya, the greatest exponent of Advaita, sing praises of gods? Obviously he did so knowingly.

The questioner earnestly explained that his faith in Saiva Siddhanta, Vedanta, etc., was shaken after reading Bahaic literature. “Please save me,” he said.

M.: Know the Self which is here and now; you will be steady and not waver.

D.: The Bahaists read others’ minds.
M.: Yes. That is possible. Your thoughts were read by another. There must be one to know your mind. That is the Truth always present which is to be realised. Truth does not waver.

D.: Show me Grace.
M.: Grace always is, and is not given. Why do you consider the pros and cons of Bahaullah or others being incarnations or otherwise? Know Thyself. Regard everything as Truth. Regard him also as the Truth.
Can he exist besides Truth? Your beliefs may change but not Truth.

D.: Show me the truth of Siddhanta, etc.
M.: Follow their instructions and then if you have doubts you may ask. Adherence to those instructions will take you only to mouna.
Differences are perceived in external objects only. If you follow their instructions all differences will be lost. No one but the son of a king can be called a prince; so also only That which is perfect is called Perfection.
One should not be content with mere discipleship, initiation, ceremony of surrender, etc.; these are external phenomena. Never forget the Truth underlying all phenomena.
D.: What is the significance of the Silence of Dakshinamurti?
M.: Many are the explanations given by scholars and sages. Have it any way you please.

Talk 132 Talk 134

Talk 132

2007-08-03T10:07:00.001+05:30

6th January, 1936
Talk 132.

An educated man asked: Is there an Absolute Being? What is its relation to the relative existence?

Maharshi: Are they different from each other? All the questions arise only in the mind. The mind arises with waking and subsides in deep sleep. As long as there is a mind, so long will there be such questions and doubts.
D.: There must be stage after stage of progress for gaining the Absolute. Are there grades of Reality?

Maharshi: There are no grades of Reality. There are grades of experience for the jiva ^[?] and not of Reality. If anything can be gained anew, it could also be lost, whereas the Absolute is central - here and now.
D.: If so, how do I remain ignorant of it (avarana ^[?])?

Maharshi: For whom is this ignorance (veiling)? Does the Absolute tell you that it is veiled? It is the jiva who says that something veils the Absolute. Find out for whom this ignorance is.
D.: Why is there imperfection in Perfection? That is, how did the Absolute become relative?

Maharshi: For whom is this relativity? For whom is this imperfection? The Absolute is not imperfect and cannot ask. The insentient cannot ask the question. Between the two something has risen up which raises these questions and which feels this doubt. Who is it? Is it the one who has now arisen? Or is it the one who is eternal? Being perfect, why do you feel yourself imperfect? Such is the teaching of all the religions. Whatever may be the experiences, the experiencer is one and the same. `I' is purna ^[?] - perfection. There is no diversity in sleep. That indicates perfection.
D.: Being perfect, why do I not feel it?

Maharshi: Nor is imperfection felt in deep sleep. The `I' in sleep being perfect, why does the waking `I' feel imperfect? Because the one who feels imperfect is a spurious offshoot, a differentiation from the Infinite - a segregation from God.
D.: I am the same in all the three states. Did this ego submerge me or did I entangle myself into it?

Maharshi: Did anything come up without you?
D.: I am always the same.

Maharshi: Because you see it, this appears to have come up. Did you feel this difficulty in deep sleep? What is new now?
D.: The senses and the mind.

Maharshi: Who says this? Is it the sleeper? If so he should have raised the question in deep sleep also. The sleeper has been lost hold of, some spurious offshoot has differentiated himself and speaks now. Can anything new appear without that which is eternal and perfect? This kind of dispute is itself eternal. Do not engage in it. Turn inward and put an end to all this. There will be no finality in disputations.
D.: Show me that Grace which puts an end to all this trouble. I have not come here to argue. I want only to learn.

Maharshi: Learn first what you are. This requires no sastras, no scholarship.
This is simple experience. The state of being is now and here all along. You have lost hold of yourself and are asking others for
guidance. The purpose of philosophy is to turn you inward. "If you know your Self, no evil can come to you. Since you asked me I have taught you." The ego comes up only holding you (the Self). Hold yourself and the ego will vanish. Until then the sage will be saying, "There is." - The ignorant will be asking "Where?"
D.: The crux of the problem lies in "Know Thyself."

Maharshi: Yes. Quite so.

Talk 131 Talk 133

Talk 131

2007-08-02T09:32:00.001+05:30

6th January, 1936
Talk 131.

Mr. Subba Rao asked: What is mukhya prana (the chief prana ^[?])?

Maharshi: It is that from which the ego and the prana rise. It is sometimes called Kundalini ^[?]. Consciousness is not born at any time, it remains eternal. But ego is born; so also the other thoughts. Associated with the absolute consciousness they shine forth; not otherwise.
D.: What is moksha ^[?] (liberation)?

Maharshi: Moksha ^[?] is to know that you were not born. "Be still and know
that I am God." To be still is not to think. Know, and not think, is the word.
D.: There are said to be six organs of different colours in the chest , of which the heart is said to be two finger-breadths to the right of
the middle line. But the Heart is also formless. Should we then imagine it to have a shape and meditate on it?

Maharshi: No. Only the quest "Who am I??" is necessary. What remains all through deep sleep and waking is the same. But in waking there is unhappiness and the effort to remove it. Asked who wakes up from sleep you say `I'. Now you are told to hold fast to this `I'. If it is done the eternal Being will reveal Itself. Investigation of `I' is the point and not meditation on the heart-centre. There is nothing like within or without. Both mean either the same thing or nothing. Of course there is also the practice of meditation on the heart- centre. It is only a practice and not investigation. Only the one who meditates on the heart can remain aware when the mind ceases to be active and remains still; whereas those who meditate on other centres cannot be so aware but infer that the mind was still only after it becomes again active.

Talk 130 Talk 132

Talk 130

2007-08-01T13:09:00.001+05:30

6th January, 1936
Talk 130.

Lakshman Brahmachari from Sri Ramakrishna Mission asked: Enquiry of `Who am I?' or of the `I-thought' being itself a thought, how can it be destroyed in the process?

Maharshi: When Sita was asked who was her husband among the rishis
(Rama himself being present there as a rishi) in the forest by the wives of the rishis, she denied each one as he was pointed out to her, but simply hung down her head when Rama was pointed out. Her silence was eloquent. Similarly, the Vedas also are eloquent in `neti' - `neti' (not this - not this) and then remain silent. Their silence is the Real State. This is the meaning of exposition by silence. When the source of the `I- thought' is reached it vanishes and what remains over is the Self.
D.: Patanjali Yoga Sutras speak of identification.

Maharshi: Identification with the Supreme is only the other name for the destruction of the ego.

Talk 129 Talk 131

Talk 129

2007-07-30T09:07:00.001+05:30

6th January, 1936
Talk 129.

An elderly gentleman, formerly a co-worker with B. V. Narasimha Swami and author of some Visishtadvaita work, visited the place for the first time. He asked about rebirths, if it is possible for the linga sarira ^[?] (subtle body) to get dissolved and be reborn in two years after death.

Maharshi: Yes. Surely. Not only can one be reborn, one may be twenty or forty or even seventy years old in the new body though only two years after death. Sri Bhagavan cited Lila's story from Yoga Vasishta.
Sreyo hi jnanam abhyasat jnanat dhyanam,
dhyanat karmaphala tyagah.
Here jnana stands for knowledge without practice; abhyasa ^[?] stands for practice without knowledge; dhyana ^[?] stands for practice with knowledge. "Knowledge without practice accompanying it is superior to practice without knowledge. Practice with knowledge is superior to knowledge without practice accompanying it. Karmaphala tyagah Nishkama karma as of a Jnani ^[?] - action without desire - is superior to knowledge with practice."
D.: What is the difference between yoga ^[?] and surrender?

Maharshi: Surrender is Bhakti Yoga. To reach the source of the `I-thought' is the destruction of the ego, is the attainment of the goal, is prapatti ^[?] (surrender), jnana, etc.

Talk 128 Talk 130

Talk 128

2007-07-29T10:07:00.001+05:30

5th January, 1936
Talk 128.

There were some French ladies and gentlemen and American as visitors to the Asramam. They asked Sri Bhagavan several questions. Among them, one was: "What is the message of the East to the West?"

Maharshi: All go to the same goal.
To another question Sri Bhagavan said: "How do you say `I am'?
Do you take a light to find yourself? Or did you come to know it on reading books? How?"
The questioner said: "By experience."

Maharshi: Yes. Experience is the word. Knowledge implies subject and object. But experience is non-terminal, eternal.

Talk 127 Talk 129

Talk 127

2007-07-28T09:07:00.001+05:30

4th January, 1936
Talk 127.

The American Engineer asked: "Does distance have any effect upon Grace?"

Maharshi: Time and space are within us. You are always in your Self. How do time and space affect it?
D.: In radio those who are nearer hear sooner. You are Hindu, we are American. Does it make any difference?

Maharshi: No.
D.: Even thoughts are read by others.

Maharshi: That shows that all are one.

Talk 126 Talk 128

Talk 126

2007-07-27T09:07:00.001+05:30

4th January, 1936
Talk 126.

Dr. Syed again asked: "Should anyone desirous of spiritual progress take to action or renunciation (pravritti-marga or nivritti-marga)?"

Maharshi: Do you go out of the Self? What is meant by giving up?

An American Engineer asked about sat-sanga (association with sages).

Maharshi: Sat ^[?] is within us.
D.: In the book "Who am I??" you have said the Heart is the seat of the mind. Is it so?

Maharshi: The mind is Atman.
D.: Is it Atman itself or its projection?

Maharshi: The same.
D.: The Westerners look on the mind as the highest principle, whereas the Easterners think the contrary - why?

Maharshi: Where psychology ends, there philosophy begins. This is experience; the mind is born; we see it; even without the mind we exist. There is everyone's experience to prove it.
D.: In deep sleep I do not seem to exist.

Maharshi: You say so when awake. It is the mind which speaks now. You exist in deep sleep beyond mind.
D.: Western philosophy admits the Higher Self as influencing the mind.

Talk 125 Talk 127

Talk 125

2007-07-26T10:07:00.001+05:30

3rd January, 1936
Talk 125.

The Muslim Professor asked: When I am here my mind is satvic; as soon as I turn my back on this, my mind hankers after so many objects.

Maharshi: Are the objects different from you? There can be no objects without the subject.
D.: And how shall I know it?

Maharshi: Being That, what do you want to know? Are there two selves for the one to know the other?
D.: Again, I repeat, sir, how to know the truth of all this and experience the same?

Maharshi: There is no gaining of anything new. All that is required is to rid the Self of ignorance. This ignorance is the identification of the Self with the non-Self.
D.: Yes. Still I do not understand. I must have your help. Everyone here is waiting on you for your Grace. You yourself must have sought originally the help of a Guru or of God. Extend that Grace to others now and save me. Before I came here I desired to see you very much. But somehow I could not find an opportunity to do so. In Bangalore I made up my mind to return to my place. I met Mr. Frydman and others who sent me here. You have dragged me here. My case is like Paul Brunton's in Bombay, when he was dragged here having cancelled his passage home. I hesitated at first on arrival.

I wondered if I would be permitted to approach you and converse with you. My doubts were soon set at rest. I find that all are equal here. You have established an equality among all. I dined with you and others. If I should say so to my people in U.P., they would not believe it. The Brahmins would not drink water with me, nor chew pan with me. But here you have taken me and others like me in your fold. Though Gandhi is striving hard he cannot bring about such a state of affairs in the country. I am very happy in your presence. I regard you as God. I consider Sri Krishna to be true God because He has said, "Whomsoever one may worship, the worshipper worships me only and I save him." Whereas all others have said, "Salvation is through me (meaning himself) only," Krishna alone is so broad-minded and has spoken like God. You observe the same kind of equality.

Talk 124 Talk 126

Talk 124

2007-07-25T11:48:00.001+05:30

3rd January, 1936
Talk 124.

Another impatient questioner elaborated long premises and finished asking why some children die a premature death. He required the answer not to satisfy the grown-up ones who look on, but the babies who are the victims.

Maharshi: Let the victims ask. Why do you ask and desire the answer from the standpoint of the child?

Talk 123 Talk 125

Talk 123

2007-07-24T09:07:00.001+05:30

3rd January, 1936
Talk 123.

Dr. Mohammed Hafiz Syed, a Muslim Professor of Persian and Urdu in the University of Allahabad, asked: " What is the purpose of this external manifestation?"

Maharshi: This manifestation had induced your question.
D.: True. I am covered by maya ^[?]. How to be free from it?

Maharshi: Who is covered by maya? Who wants to be free?
D.: Master, being asked `Who?', I know that it is ignorant me , composed of the senses, mind and body. I tried this enquiry `Who?' after reading Paul Brunton's book. Three or four times I was feeling elated and the elation lasted sometime and faded away. How to be established in `I'? Please give me the clue and help me.

Maharshi: That which appears anew must also disappear in due course.
D.: Please tell me the method of reaching the eternal Truth.

Maharshi: You are That. Can you ever remain apart from the Self? To be yourself requires no effort since you are always That.

Talk 122 Talk 124

Talk 122

2007-07-23T10:07:00.001+05:30

1st January, 1936
Talk 122.

A crowd had gathered here during Christmas.
D.: How to attain Unity Consciousness?

Maharshi: Being Unity Consciousness how to attain it? Your question is its own answer.
D.: What is Atman (Self), anatman ^[?] (non-self) and paramatman
(Supreme Self)?

Maharshi: Atman is jivatman ^[?] (the individual Self) and the rest are plain. The Self is ever-present (nityasiddha). Each one wants to know the Self. What kind of help does one require to know oneself? People want to see the Self as something new. But it is eternal and remains the same all along. They desire to see it as a blazing light, etc. How can it be so? It is not light, not darkness (na tejo, na tamah). It is only as it is. It cannot be defined. The best definition is `I am that I AM.'

The Srutis speak of the Self as being the size of one's thumb, the tip of the hair, an electric spark, vast, subtler than the subtlest, etc. They have no foundation in fact. It is only Being, but different from the real and the unreal; it is Knowledge, but different from knowledge and ignorance. How can it be defined at all? It is simply Being. Again Sri Bhagavan said that in the whole Thayumanavar literature, he preferred one stanza which says: "Ego disappearing another `I-I' spontaneously manifests in full glory," etc. Again he cites Skandar Anubhuti: "Not real, nor unreal; not darkness nor light, it is." One man said, that a siddha ^[?] of Kumbakonam claimed to overcome the defects in Sri Sankara's system which deals only with transcendentalism and not the work-a-day life. One must be able to exercise super-human powers in ordinary life, that is to say, one must be a siddha in order to be perfect. Sri Bhagavan pointed out a stanza in Thayumanavar which condemns all siddhis. Further he said that Thayumanavar mentions mouna (silence) in numerous places but defines it in only one verse.
Mouna is said to be that state which spontaneously manifests after the annihilation of the ego. That state is beyond light and darkness, but still it is called light since no other proper word could be found for it.

Talk 121 Talk 123

Talk 121

2007-07-22T12:07:00.001+05:30

25th December, 1935
Talk 121.

Talks between the Master and two Moslems on a previous occasion.

D.: Has God a form?

Maharshi: Who says so?

D.: Well, if God has no form is it proper to worship idols?

Maharshi: Leave God alone because He is unknown. What about you? Have you a form?

D.: Yes. I am this and so and so.

Maharshi: So then, you are a man with limbs, about three and a half cubits high, with beard, etc. Is it so?

D.: Certainly.

Maharshi: Then do you find yourself so in deep sleep?

D.: After waking I perceive that I was asleep. Therefore by inference I remained thus in deep sleep also.

Maharshi: If you are the body why do they bury the corpse after death? The body must refuse to be buried.

D.: No, I am the subtle jiva ^[?] within the gross body.

Maharshi: So you see that you are really formless; but you are at present identifying yourself with the body. So long as you are formful why should you not worship the formless God as being formful? The questioner was baffled and perplexed.

Talk 120 Talk 122

Talk 120

2007-07-21T10:07:00.001+05:30

25th December, 1935
Talk 120.

Later a man brought two peacocks with their eyes screened. When let loose in Maharshi's presence they flew away to a distance. They were brought back but still they flew away. Sri Bhagavan then said, "It is no use trying to keep them here. They are not ripe in their minds as these dogs ." However much they tried to keep the peacocks they would not remain there even a minute.

[Ed: please refer previous Talk for story of dogs]

Talk 119 Talk 121

Talk 119

2007-07-20T10:07:00.001+05:30

25th December, 1935
Talk 119.

Again at the same time there were four dogs in the Asramam. Sri Bhagavan said that those dogs would not accept any food not partaken by Himself. The pandit put the matter to the test. He spread some food before them; they would not touch it; then Sri Bhagavan, after a time, put a small morsel of it into His mouth. Immediately they fell to and devoured the food.

Talk 118 Talk 120

Talk 118

2007-07-19T11:07:00.001+05:30

25th December, 1935
Talk 118.

Mr. Rangachari, a Telugu Pandit in Voorhees' College at Vellore, asked about nishkama karma ^[?]. There was no reply. After a time Sri Bhagavan went up the hill and a few followed him, including the pandit. There was a thorny stick lying on the way which Sri Bhagavan picked up; he sat down and began leisurely to work at it. The thorns were cut off, the knots were made smooth, the whole stick was polished with a rough leaf. The whole operation took about six hours. Everyone was wondering at the fine appearance of the stick made of a spiky material. A shepherd boy put in his appearance on the way as the group moved off. He had lost his stick and was at a loss. Sri Bhagavan immediately gave the new one in his hand to the boy and passed on.

The pandit said that this was the matter-of-fact answer to his question.

Talk 117 Talk 119

Talk 117

2007-07-18T10:33:00.001+05:30

25th December, 1935
Talk 117.

A Ceylonese: What is the first step for Realisation of Self? Please help me towards it. There is no use reading books.
Another: This one man's request is that of us all.

Maharshi: Quite so. If the Self be found in books it would have been already realised. What wonder can be greater than that we seek the Self in books? Can it be found there? Of course books have given readers the sense to ask this question and to seek the Self.
D.: Books are utterly useless. They may all be burnt. The spoken word alone is useful. Grace alone is useful.
Others spoke according to their own light, until finally they returned to the original question, but Sri Bhagavan remained silent.

Talk 116 Talk 118

Talk 116

2007-07-17T09:44:00.001+05:30

25th December, 1935
Talk 116.

D.: Jiva ^[?] is said to be bound by karma. Is it so?

Maharshi: Let karma enjoy its fruits. As long as you are the doer so long are you the enjoyer.

D.: How to get released from karma.

Maharshi: See whose karma it is. You will find you are not the doer. Then you will be free. This requires grace of God for which you should pray to Him, worship Him and meditate on Him. The karma which takes place without effort, i.e., involuntary action, is not binding. Even a Jnani ^[?] is acting as seen by his bodily movements. There can be no karma without effort or without intentions (sankalpas). Therefore there are sankalpas for all. They are of two kinds (1) one, binding - bandha-hetu and the other (2) mukti-hetu - not binding. The former must be given up and the latter must be cultivated. There
is no fruit without previous karma; no karma without previous sankalpa ^[?]. Even mukti ^[?] must be the result of effort so long as the sense of doership persists.

Talk 115 Talk 117

Talk 115

2007-07-16T09:07:00.001+05:30

25th December, 1935
Talk 115.

Mr. M. Frydman: Even without any initial desires there are some strange experiences for us. Wherefrom do they arise?

Maharshi: The desire may not be there now. Enough if it was there before.
Though forgotten by you now it is bearing fruit in due course. That is how the Jnani ^[?] is said to have prarabdha ^[?] left for him. Of course it is only according to others' point of view.

Talk 114 Talk 116

Talk 114

2007-07-15T10:54:00.001+05:30

23rd December, 1935
Talk 114.

Baron Von Veltheim - Ostran, an East German Baron, asked, There should be harmony between knowledge of the Self and knowledge of the world. They must develop side by side. Is it right? Does Maharshi agree?

Maharshi: Yes.

D.: Beyond the intellect and before wisdom dawns there will be pictures of the world passing before one's consciousness. Is it so? Sri Bhagavan pointed out the parallel passage in Dakshinamurti stotram ^[?] to signify that the pictures are like reflections in a mirror; again from the Upanishad - as in the mirror, so in the world of manes, as in the water, so in the world of Gandharvas; as shadow and sunlight in Brahma Loka.

D.: There is spiritual awakening since 1930 all the world over? Does Maharshi agree?

Maharshi said: "The development is according to your sight." The Baron again asked if Maharshi would induce a spiritual trance and give him a message - which is unspoken but still understandable. No answer was made.

Talk 113 Talk 115

Talk 113

2007-07-14T11:07:00.001+05:30

17th December, 1935
Talk 113.

A Telugu gentleman asked about Karma Yoga. Sri Bhagavan said that the man should act as an actor on the stage. In all actions there is the sat ^[?] as the underlying principle. "Remember it and act."

He asked about the purity of mind - chitta suddhi ^[?]. Sri Bhagavan said that chitta ^[?] suddhi is to engage in one thought only to the exclusion of all others. It is otherwise called one-pointedness of the mind. The practice of meditation purifies the mind.

Talk 112 Talk 114

Talk 112

2007-07-13T10:24:00.001+05:30

17th December, 1935
Talk 112.

Mr. P. Brunton, while reading Upadesa Manjari, came across the statement that the ego, the world and God are all unreal. He desired to use a different word for God or at least a qualifying adjective, e.g., the Creative Force or personal God.
Sri Bhagavan explained that God means SAMASHTI ^[?] - i.e., all that is, plus the Be-ing - in the same way as `I' means the individual plus the Be-ing, and the world means the variety plus Be-ing. The Be-ing is in all cases real. The all, the variety and the individual is in each case unreal. So also in the union of the real and the unreal, the mixing up or the false identification is wrong. It amounts to saying sad-asadvilakshana, i.e., transcending the real and the unreal - sat ^[?] and asat ^[?].
Reality is that which transcends all concepts, including that of God. Inasmuch as the name of God is used, it cannot be true. The Hebrew word Jehovah = (I am) expresses God correctly. Absolute Be-ing is beyond expression.

The word cannot be replaced nor need it be replaced. The Englishman casually said that in prehistoric ages there was spirituality but not high intellect, whereas intellect has now developed. Sri Bhagavan pointed out that intellect raises the question "whose intellect?" The answer is, of the Self. So intellect is a tool of the Self. The Self uses intellect for measuring variety.

Intellect is not the Self nor apart from the Self. The Self alone is eternal. Intellect is only a phenomenon. People speak of the development of variety as being the development of intellect. Intellect was always there. Dhata yatha parvam akalpayat (The Creator created just as before). Consider your own state, day by day. There is no intellect in dreamless deep sleep. But it is there now. There is no intellect in a child. It develops with age. How could there be manifestation of intellect without its seed in the sleep state and in the child? Why go to history to teach this fundamental fact? The level of truth of history is only the level of truth of the individual.

Talk 111 Talk 113

Talk 111

2007-07-12T14:03:00.001+05:30

16th December, 1935
Talk 111.

A Telugu gentleman asked about Brahma bhavana.

Maharshi: Not to think "I am Brahman" or "All is Brahman" is itself jivanmukti ^[?].
He asked about inspired action.

Maharshi: Let activities go on. They do not affect the pure Self.

Talk 110 Talk 112

Talk 110

2007-07-11T10:07:00.001+05:30

14th December, 1935
Talk 110.

An American lady asked Bhagavan what his experiences of samadhi were. When suggested that she should relate her experiences and ask if they were right, she replied that Sri Bhagavan's experiences ought to be correct and should be known, whereas her own were unimportant. She thus wanted to know if Sri Bhagavan felt his body hot or cold in samadhi, if he spent the first three and a half years of his stay at Tiruvannamalai in prayers and so on.

Maharshi: Samadhi transcends mind and speech and cannot be described. For example, the state of deep slumber cannot be described; samadhi
state can still less be explained.
D.: But I know that I am unconscious in deep sleep.

Maharshi: Consciousness and unconsciousness are only modes of the mind.
Samadhi transcends the mind.
D.: Still you can say what it is like.

Maharshi: You will know only when you are in samadhi.

Talk 109 Talk 111

Talk 109

2007-07-10T10:07:00.001+05:30

13th December, 1935
Talk 109.

Two gentlemen from Ambala (the Punjab) had been here for a few weeks. Just before taking leave of Sri Bhagavan one of them asked how he should remove the spiritual drowsiness of his friends or of other people in general.

Maharshi: Have you removed your own `spiritual drowsiness?' The force which is set up to remove your own `drowsiness' will also operate in other centres. There is the will-power with which you can act on others. But it is on a lower plane and not desirable. Take care of yourself first.
D.: How to remove my own `drowsiness'?

Maharshi: Whose `drowsiness' is it? Enquire. Turn within. Turn all your enquiries towards search for Self. The force set up within you will operate on others also.

Talk 108 Talk 110

Talk 108

2007-07-09T10:41:00.001+05:30

29th November, 1935
Talk 108.

In continuation of dialogue 105: Uddalaka explained that all proceeds from sat ^[?] (as illustrated by deep sleep). The body takes food. Food requires water. Water requires heat to digest the food. (Tejo mulamanvichcha) It is sat parasyam devatayam (merged in the Be-ing). If we are sat sampannah (merged in the Be-ing), how is it that we do not realise it?

Maharshi: Just as the honey gathered from different flowers forms the bulk in a honeycomb, and each drop does not indicate wherefrom it has been collected, so also sat sampannah in deep sleep, death, etc. , people do not recognise their individualities. They slip into that state unawares. But when they wake up they regain their original individual characteristics.
D.: Honey, though collected from different flowers, becomes the bulk and does not possess individual characteristics. But the individual parts do not also exist in the drops and they do not return to their sources. Whereas the individuals after going to deep sleep wake up individuals as formerly. How is it?

Maharshi: Just as the rivers discharged into the ocean lose their individualities , still the waters evaporate and return as rain on the hills and through rivers to the ocean, so also the individuals going to sleep lose their individualities and yet return as individuals according to their previous vasanas unawares. Thus, even in death, sat is not lost.

D.: How can that be?

Maharshi: See how a tree, whose branches are cut, grows again. So long as the life-source is not affected it will grow. Similarly the samskaras (anamneses) sink into the heart in death: they do not perish. They will in right time sprout forth from the heart. That is how the jivas are reborn.

D.: How does the wide universe sprout forth from such subtle samskaras remaining sunk in the heart?

Maharshi: Just as a big banyan tree sprouts from a tiny seed, so the wide universe with names and forms sprouts forth from the heart.
D.: If the origin is sat why is it not felt?

Maharshi: The salt in the lump is visible; it is invisible in solution. Still its existence is known by taste. Similarly sat, though not recognised by the intellect, can still be realised in a different way, i.e., transcendentally.
D.: How?

Maharshi: Just as a man blindfolded and left by robbers in a jungle enquires his way home and returns there, so also the ignorant one (blinded by ignorance) enquires of those not so blinded and seeks his own source and returns to it.
Then, Gurupadesa - "Vang manasi sampadyate, manah prane,
pranastejasi, tejah parasyam devatayam iti."
D.: If so, a Jnani ^[?] or an ajnani ^[?] dies in the same manner. Why is an ajnani reborn, whereas a Jnani is not?

Maharshi: Just as an innocent man satyabhisandha is not affected by the test of touching red hot iron but a thief is affected, so also the sadbrahma satyabhisandha, i.e., a Jnani, enters into sat consciously and merges, whereas the other enters unaware and is thrown out unawares also.

Talk 107 Talk 109

Talk 107

2007-07-08T10:47:00.001+05:30

29th November, 1935
Talk 107.

Later the Yogi (Yogananda) asked: How is the spiritual uplift of the people to be effected? What are the instructions to be given them?

Maharshi: They differ according to the temperaments of the individuals and according to the spiritual ripeness of their minds. There cannot be any instruction en masse.
D.: Why does God permit suffering in the world? Should He not with His omnipotence do away with it at one stroke and ordain the universal realisation of God?

Maharshi: Suffering is the way for Realisation of God.
D.: Should He not ordain differently?

Maharshi: It is the way.
D.: Are Yoga, religion, etc., antidotes to suffering?

Maharshi: They help you to overcome suffering.

D.: Why should there be suffering?

Maharshi: Who suffers? What is suffering?

No answer! Finally the Yogi rose up, prayed for Sri Bhagavan' s blessings for his own work and expressed great regret for his hasty return. He looked very sincere and devoted and even emotional.

Talk 106 Talk 108

Talk 106

2007-07-07T10:42:00.001+05:30

29th November, 1935
Talk 106.

Swami Yogananda with four others arrived at 8.45 a.m. He looks big, but gentle and well-groomed. He has dark flowing hair, hanging over his shoulders. The group had lunch in the Asramam.
Mr. C. R. Wright, his secretary, asked: How shall I realise God?

Maharshi: God is an unknown entity. Moreover He is external. Whereas, the Self is always with you and it is you. Why do you leave out what is intimate and go in for what is external?

D.: What is this Self again?

Maharshi: The Self is known to everyone but not clearly. You always exist. The Be-ing is the Self. `I am' is the name of God. Of all the definitions of God, none is indeed so well put as the Biblical statement "I AM THAT I AM" in EXODUS (Chap. 3). There are other statements, such as Brahmaivaham, Aham Brahmasmi and Soham ^[?]. But none is so direct as the name JEHOVAH = I AM. The Absolute Being is what is - It is the Self. It is God. Knowing the Self, God is known. In fact God is none other than the Self.

D.: Why are there good and evil?

Maharshi: They are relative terms. There must be a subject to know the good and evil. That subject is the ego. Trace the source of the ego. It ends in the Self. The source of the ego is God. This definition of God is probably more concrete and better understood by you.

D.: So it is. How to get Bliss?

Maharshi: Bliss is not something to be got. On the other hand you are always Bliss. This desire is born of the sense of incompleteness. To whom is this sense of incompleteness? Enquire. In deep sleep you were blissful: Now you are not so. What has interposed between that Bliss and this non-bliss? It is the ego. Seek its source and find you are Bliss. There is nothing new to get. You have, on the other hand, to get rid of your ignorance which makes you think that you are other than Bliss. For whom is this ignorance? It is to the ego. Trace the source of the ego. Then the ego is lost and Bliss remains over. It is eternal. You are That, here and now ... That is the master key for solving all doubts. The doubts arise in the mind. The mind is born of the ego. The ego rises from the Self. Search the source of the ego and the Self is revealed. That alone remains. The universe is only expanded Self. It is not different from the Self.
D.: What is the best way of living?

Maharshi: It differs according as one is a Jnani ^[?] or ajnani ^[?]. A Jnani does not find anything different or separate from the Self. All are in the Self. It is wrong to imagine that there is the world, that there is a body in it and that you dwell in the body. If the Truth is known, the universe and what is beyond it will be found to be only in the Self. The outlook differs according to the sight of the person. The sight is from the eye. The eye must be located somewhere. If you are seeing with the gross eyes you find others gross. If with subtle eyes (i.e., the mind) others appear subtle. If the eye becomes the Self, the Self being infinite, the eye is infinite. There is nothing else to see different from the Self.

He thanked Maharshi. He was told that the best way of thanking is to remain always as the Self.

Talk 105 Talk 107

Talk 105

2007-07-06T10:19:00.001+05:30

28th November, 1935
Talk 105.

Maharshi: Yena asrutam srutam bhavati (Chandogya Upanishad). (By knowing which, all the unknown becomes known.)
Madhavaswami, Bhagavan's attendant: Are there nine methods of teaching the Mahavakya `Tat vamasi' in the Chandogya Upanishad?

Maharshi: No. Not so. The method is only one. Uddalaka started teaching Sat eva
Somya (There is only Being ) illustrating it with Svetaketu's fast.
(1) Sat ^[?], the Being in the individual, is made obvious by the fast. (2) This (sat ^[?]) Being is similar in all, as honey gathered from different flowers. (3) There is no difference in the sat of individuals as illustrated by the state of deep sleep. The question arises - if so, why does not each know it in sleep? (4) Because the individuality is lost. There is only sat left.

Illustration: rivers lost in the ocean. If lost, is there sat? (5) Surely - as when a tree is pruned it grows again. That is a sure sign of its life. But is it there even in that dormant condition? (6) Yes, take the instance of salt and water. The presence of the salt in water is subtle. Though invisible to the eye it is recognised by other senses. How is one to know it? What is the other means? (7) By enquiry, as the man left in the Gandhara forest regained his home. (8) In evolution and involution, in manifestation and resolution, sat alone exists. Tejah parasyam, devatayam (the light merges in the Supreme). (9) An insincere man is hurt by the touch of fire test. His insincerity is brought out by fire. Sincerity is Self-evident. A true man or a Self realised man remains happy, without being affected by the false appearances (namely the world, birth and death, etc.), whereas the false or ignorant man is miserable.

Talk 104 Talk 106

Talk 104

2007-07-05T10:07:00.001+05:30

28th November, 1935
Talk 104.

Mr. Kishorilal, an officer of the Railway Board, Government of India, hails from Delhi. He looks simple, gentle and dignified in behaviour. He has gastric ulcer and has arranged for his board and lodging in the town.
Five years ago he took up the study of devotional literature. He is a bhakta ^[?] of Sri Krishna. He could feel Krishna in all that he saw. Krishna often appeared to him and made him happy. His work was going on without any effort on his part. Everything seemed to be done for him by Krishna himself.
Later he came in contact with a Mahatma who advised him to study Vedanta and take to nirakara upasana, i.e., devotion to formless Being. He has since read about seven hundred books of philosophy and Vedanta, including the Upanishads, Ashtavakra, Avadhuta and Srimad Bhagavad Gita.
He has also studied Sri Bhagavan's works in English and is much impressed by them. Once when he was in the jaws of death, no other thought haunted him but that he had not yet visited Sri Bhagavan in his life. So he has come here on a short visit. He prays only for Sri Bhagavan's touch and His Grace. The Master said to him: atmaivaham gudakesa, i.e.,

I am Atman;
Atman is the Guru; and Atman is Grace also.
No one remains without the Atman. He is always in contact.
No external touch is necessary.

D.: I understand. I do not mean external touch.

Maharshi: Nothing is more intimate than the Atman.

D.: Again Sri Krishna appeared to me three months back and said, "Why do you ask me for nirakara upasana ^[?]? It is only sarva bhutesu cha atmanam sarva bhutani cha atmani. (The Self in all and all in the Self.)

Maharshi: That contains the whole truth. Even this is oupacharika (indirect).
There is in fact nothing but the Atman. The world is only a projection of the mind. The mind originates from the Atman. So Atman alone is the One Being.
D.: Yet it is difficult to realise.

Maharshi: There is nothing to realise. It is nitya suddha buddha mukta (the Eternal, pure, aware and liberated) state. It is natural and eternal. There is nothing new to gain. On the other hand a man must loose his ignorance. That is all. This ignorance must be traced to its origin. To whom is this ignorance? Of what is one ignorant? There are the subject and the object. Such duality is characteristic of the mind. The mind is from the Atman.

D.: Yes. Ignorance itself cannot exist. (He finally surrendered saying , "Just as a doctor learns what is wrong with the patient and treats him accordingly, so may Sri Bhagavan do with me". He also said that he had lost all inclination to study books and learn from them.)

Talk 103 Talk 105

Talk 103

2007-07-04T11:07:00.001+05:30

19th November, 1935
Talk 103.

The next day Sri Bhagavan said: These people want some japa, dhyana , or yoga or something similar. Without their saying what they have been doing so far what more can be said to them? Again, why japa ^[?] , its phalasruti, etc.? Who is it that makes the japa? Who gets the fruits thereof? Can they not look to the Self? Or again, even if instructed by others to do japa or dhyana ^[?], they do it for some time, but are always looking to some results, e.g., visions, dreams, or thaumaturgic powers.
If they do not find them they say they are not progressing or the tapas is not effective. Visions, etc., are no signs of progress. Mere performance of tapas is its progress also. Steadiness is what is required. Moreover they must entrust themselves to their mantra ^[?] or their God and wait for its Grace. They don't do so. Japa ^[?] even once uttered has its own good effect, whether the individual is aware or not.

Talk 102 Talk 104

Talk 102

2007-07-03T10:34:00.001+05:30

19th November, 1935
Talk 102.

He returned with a request next day. He said, "It is said that one should receive instruction from a Guru. Mere reading of books is not helpful. I have read many books; but there is no practical help derived from such learning. Please tell me what I should do, how I should do it, at what times, in which places, and so on."

The Master remained silent. His silence seemed to say, "Here and now, be at peace and tranquil. That is all". But the questioner could not interpret it that way; he wanted something concrete.

Talk 101 Talk 103

Talk 101

2007-07-02T11:51:00.000+05:30

19th November, 1935
Talk 101.

A gentleman from Ambala asked: What is the rationalistic explanation of Draupadi's sari becoming endless?

Maharshi: Spiritual matters cannot be fitted into rationalism. Spirituality is transcendental. The miracle was after Draupadi had surrendered herself. The secret lies in surrender.
D.: How to reach the Heart?

Maharshi: Where are you now that you want to reach the Heart? Are you standing apart from the Self?
D.: I am in my body.

Maharshi: In a particular spot, or all over?
D.: All over. I am extending all over the body.

Maharshi: Wherefrom do you extend?
D.: I do not know.

Maharshi: Yes. You are always in the Heart. You are never away from it in order that you should reach it. Consider how you are in deep sleep and in the waking state. These states are also not yours. They are of the ego. The consciousness remains the same and undifferentiated all through.
D.: I understand but I cannot feel it so.

Maharshi: Whose is the ignorance? Find it out.
D.: All this is so difficult.

Maharshi: The idea of difficulty is itself wrong. It will not help you to gain what you want. Again I ask: "Who finds it difficult?"
D.: I see that I am coming round to `I'.

Maharshi: Because you are always that and never away from that. There is nothing so simple as being the Self. It requires no effort, no aid. One has to leave off the wrong identity and be in his eternal, natural, inherent state.

Talk 100 Talk 102

Talk 100

2007-07-01T16:15:00.000+05:30

Later Sri Bhagavan quoted from Kaivalya ^[?] some verses and explained:

A

The Supreme
(Knowledge Absolute; witness; the Self-shining core ;

the Heart; the Self)

the individual
[the jiva ^[?], the knower consisting of vritti ^[?] (the mode
of mind stuff) and reflected light, in the latent form ]

the internal intellect and the outgoing mind
[buddhi ^[?] and manas consisting of vritti ^[?] and reflected light,
as a sprout, this is the antahkarana (the inner organ)]

modes taking shape	common
as objects	knowledge

together form the world as we perceive it

B

The Self (Pure Knowledge)

the jiva ^[?] (pramatr = the knower)

the intellect and the mind
(pramana ^[?] = perception)

modes	knowledge
seen as objects	(phala chaitanya)

The modes of mind take shape as external objects and the light reflected on the modes illumines the objects. Now neglecting the modes of mind, look for the light illumining them. The mind becomes still and the light remains self-shining. The undulating mind (i.e., the mind associated with rajas ^[?] = activity and tamas ^[?] = darkness) is commonly known as the mind. Devoid of rajas ^[?] and tamas ^[?], it is pure and self- shining. This is Self-Realisation. Therefore the mind is said to be the means for it.

C

Pure Consciousness
(said to be the Eternal or the Ever-present Witness)

(antahkarana)
Inner organ + the reflected light (jiva; pramtr)
modes together with the light are said to be prameya =

the known; of these, the objects are gross and the
light is called phala chaitanya.

D

In the jiva ^[?] the inner organ (antahkarana) consists of -

Satva	Rajas ^[?]	Tamas ^[?]
knowledge, light	modes of mind, intellect, mind	gross objects, the world

Similarly for the cosmos:-
The Cosmic mind (the Eternal Being)

Satva	Rajas ^[?]	Tamas ^[?]
Isvara - the Lord of the universe	the individual jiva ^[?]	the universe

Brahmana =	Sat	Chit	Ananda
	Being, called the adhara = the substratum	Knowledge	Bliss
		Called visesha = differentiation by maya
		natural the universe or the world	artificial multiplicity of objects

Maya ^[?] cannot obscure Sat ^[?], but it does obscure Chit ^[?] and Ananda ^[?], making them appear as particulars.

A rope
corresponds to	in dim light	appears as a snake

Being; the substratum	maya ^[?] illusion	the artificial particular as shown in E

Sat ^[?] = Being = the substratum (adhara ^[?]). From this proceeds the particular, namely the jiva ^[?] who veiled by ignorance identifies himself with the gross body. Here ignorance stands for not investigating the Self. Jiva ^[?] is in fact knowledge only; yet owing to ignorance the wrong identity with the gross body results.

Again, the Master illustrated it with the red-hot iron ball (tapta-ayah-pindavat). A ball of iron + fire together form red-hot iron ball. The World + Chit ^[?] = (Pure Knowledge) together form the jiva ^[?] = the individual.

Talk 99

2007-06-30T18:27:00.001+05:30

19th November, 1935
Talk 99.

A sannyasi asked: It is said that the Self is beyond the mind and yet the realisation is with the mind. Mano na manute, Manasa na matam, and Manasaivedamaptavyam (The mind cannot think it. It cannot be thought of by the mind and the mind alone can realise it). How are these contradictions to be reconciled?

Maharshi: Atman is realised with mruta manas (dead mind), i.e., mind devoid of thoughts and turned inward. Then the mind sees its own source and becomes That. It is not as the subject perceiving an object. When the room is dark a lamp is necessary to illumine and eyes to cognise objects. But when the sun is risen there is no need of a lamp, and the objects are seen; and to see the sun no lamp is necessary, it is enough that you turn your eyes towards the self- luminous sun. Similarly with the mind. To see the objects the reflected light of the mind is necessary. To see the Heart it is enough that the mind is turned towards it. Then the mind loses itself and the Heart shines forth.

Talk 98 Talk 100

Talk 98

2007-06-29T10:36:00.000+05:30

19th November, 1935
Talk 98.

Bhagavan further explained: The Self is the Heart. The Heart is self-luminous. Light arises from the Heart and reaches the brain, which is the seat of the mind. The world is seen with the mind, that is, by the reflected light of the Self. It is perceived with the aid of the mind. When the mind is illumined it is aware of the world. When it is not itself so illumined, it is not aware of the world. If the mind is turned in towards the source of light, objective knowledge ceases and Self alone shines forth as the Heart.

The moon shines by the reflected light of the sun. When the sun has set, the moon is useful for revealing objects. When the sun has risen, no one needs the moon, although the pale disc of the moon is visible in the sky.

So it is with the mind and the Heart. The mind is useful because of its reflected light. It is used for seeing objects. When it is turned inwards, the source of illumination shines forth by itself, and the mind remains dim and useless like the moon in day-time.

Talk 97 Talk 99

Talk 97

2007-06-28T16:00:00.000+05:30

19th November, 1935
Talk 97.

One Mr. Ramachandar, a gentleman from Ambala, asked where the Heart is and what Realisation is.

Maharshi: The Heart is not physical; it is spiritual. Hridayam = hrit + ayam
- This is the centre. It is that from which thoughts arise, on which they subsist and where they are resolved. The thoughts are the content of the mind and, they shape the universe. The Heart is the centre of all.

Yatova imani bhutani jayante (that from which these beings come into existence) etc. is said to be Brahman in the Upanishads. That is the Heart. Brahman is the Heart.

D.: How to realise the Heart?

Maharshi: There is no one who even for a trice fails to experience the Self.
For no one admits that he ever stands apart from the Self. He is the Self. The Self is the Heart.

D.: It is not clear.

Maharshi: In deep sleep you exist; awake, you remain. The same Self is in both states. The difference is only in the awareness and the non- awareness of the world. The world rises with the mind and sets with the mind. That which rises and sets is not the Self. The Self is different, giving rise to the mind, sustaining it and resolving it. So the Self is the underlying principle. When asked who you are, you place your hand on the right side of the breast and say `I am'. There you involuntarily point out the Self. The Self is thus known. But the individual is miserable because he confounds the mind and the body with the Self. This confusion is due to wrong knowledge. Elimination of wrong knowledge is alone needed. Such elimination results in Realisation.

D.: How to control the mind?

Maharshi: What is mind? Whose is the mind?

D.: Mind always wanders. I cannot control it.

Maharshi: It is the nature of the mind to wander. You are not the mind. The mind springs up and sinks down. It is impermanent, transitory, whereas you are eternal. There is nothing but the Self. To inhere in the Self is the thing. Never mind the mind. If its source is sought, it will vanish leaving the Self unaffected.

D.: So one need not seek to control the mind?

Maharshi: There is no mind to control if you realise the Self. The mind vanishing, the Self shines forth. In the realised man the mind may be active or inactive, the Self alone remains for him. For the mind, the body and the world are not separate from the Self. They rise from and sink into the Self. They do not remain apart from the Self. Can they be different from the Self? Only be aware of the Self. Why worry about these shadows? How do they affect the Self?

Talk 96 Talk 98

Talk 96

2007-06-27T10:35:00.001+05:30

13th November, 1935
Talk 96.

Maj. A. W. Chadwick: Of what nature is the realisation of Westerners who relate that they have had flashes of cosmic consciousness?

Maharshi: It came as a flash and disappeared as such. That which has a beginning must also end. Only when the ever-present consciousness is realised will it be permanent. Consciousness is indeed always with us. Everyone knows `I am!' No one can deny his own being. The man in deep slumber is not aware; while awake he seems to be aware. But it is the same person. There is no change in the one who slept and the one who is now awake. In deep sleep he was not aware of his body; there was no body-consciousness. In the wakeful state he is aware of his body; there is body-consciousness. Therefore the difference lies in the emergence of body-consciousness and not in any change in the Real Consciousness. The body and body-consciousness arise together and sink together. All this amounts to saying that there are no limitations in deep sleep, whereas there are limitations in the waking state. These limitations are the bondage; the feeling `The body is I' is the error. This false sense of `I' must go. The real `I' is always there. It is here and now. It never appears anew and disappears again. That which is must also persist for ever. That which appears anew will also be lost. Compare deep sleep and waking. The body appears in one state but not in the other. Therefore the body will be lost. The consciousness was pre-existent and will survive the body. In fact, there is no one who does not say `I am'. The wrong knowledge of `I am the body' is the cause of all the mischief. This wrong knowledge must go. That is Realisation. Realisation is not acquisition of anything new nor it is a new faculty. It is only removal of all camouflage.

Maj. Chadwick: I try to shake off the body.

Maharshi: A man shakes off his clothes and remains alone and free. The Self is unlimited and is not confined to the body. How can the body be shaken off? Where will he leave it? Wherever it is, it is his still.
Maj. Chadwick: (Laughter.)

Maharshi: The ultimate Truth is so simple. It is nothing more than being in the pristine state. This is all that need be said. Still, it is a wonder that to teach this simple Truth there should come into being so many religions, creeds, methods and disputes among them and so on! Oh the pity! Oh the pity!

Maj. Chadwick: But people will not be content with simplicity; they want complexity.

Maharshi: Quite so. Because they want something elaborate and attractive and puzzling, so many religions have come into existence and each of them is so complex and each creed in each religion has its own adherents and antagonists. For example, an ordinary Christian will not be satisfied unless he is told that God is somewhere in the far-off Heavens not to be reached by us unaided. Christ alone knew Him and Christ alone can guide us. Worship Christ and be saved. If told the simple truth - "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you" - he is not satisfied and will read complex and far-fetched meanings in such statements. Mature minds alone can grasp the simple Truth in all its nakedness.

Maj. Chadwick later expressed a certain involuntary fear while meditating. He feels the spirit separated from the gross body and the sensation creates a fright.

Maharshi: To whom is the fright? It is all due to the habit of identifying the body with the Self. Repeated experience of separation will make one familiar and the fright will cease.

Talk 95 Talk 97

Talk 95

2007-06-26T13:56:00.001+05:30

13th November, 1935
Talk 95.

A question was raised as follows by Maj. A. W. Chadwick:-
Mr. Edward Carpenter, a certain mystic, has written in a book that he had Self-Realisation on some occasions and that its effects lasted sometimes afterwards, only to be gradually lost. Whereas Sri Ramana Gita says, "Granthi ^[?] (knot = bondage), snapped once, is snapped for ever." In the case of this mystic, the bondage seems to have persisted even after Self-Realisation. How can it be so?
The Master cited Kaivalya ^[?] as follows:-
The disciple, after realising the all-shining, unitary, unbroken state of Being-Knowledge-Bliss, surrendered himself to the master and humbly prayed to know how he could repay the master's Grace. The Master said: "My reward consists in your permanent unbroken Bliss. Do not slip away from it."
D.: Having once experienced the Supreme Bliss, how can one stray away from it?

Maharshi: Oh yes! It happens. The predisposition adhering to him from time immemorial will draw him out and so ignorance overtakes him.
D.: What are the obstacles to remaining steady in unbroken Bliss?
How can they be overcome?

Maharshi: The obstacles are:
(1) Ignorance which is forgetfulness of one's pure being. (2) Doubt which consists in wondering if even the experience was of the Real or of the unreal. (3) Error which consists in the "I-am-the-body" idea, and thinking that the world is real. These are overcome by hearing the truth, reflection on it and concentration.
The Master continued: Experience is said to be temporary or permanent. The first experience is temporary and by concentration it can become permanent. In the former the bondage is not completely destroyed; it remains subtle and reasserts itself in due course. But in the latter it is destroyed root and branch, never to appear again. The expression yogabhrashta ^[?] (those who have fallen down from yoga) in Srimad Bhagavad Gita refers to the former class of men.
D.: Is then hearing the Truth meant only for a limited few?

Maharshi: It is of two kinds. The ordinary one is to hear it enunciated and explained by a master. However, the right one is to raise the question for oneself and seek and find the answer in oneself as the unbroken `I-I'. To be reflecting on this experience is the second stage. To remain one-pointed in it is the third stage.
D.: Can the temporary experience be called samadhi?

Maharshi: No. It forms part of the third stage.
D.: It looks then as if even hearing the Truth is limited to a very few.

Maharshi: The seekers fall into two classes; kritopasaka ^[?] and akritopasaka ^[?].
The former having already overcome his predisposition by steady devotion, his mind thus made pure, has had some kind of experience but does not comprehend it; as soon as he is instructed by a competent master, permanent experience results. The other class of seeker needs great effort to achieve this end. How will the hearing of the Truth, reflection and concentration help him? They comprise upasana ^[?] (the nearest approach to Truth) and will end in his Self-Realization. The fourth stage is the final one of liberation. Even there some distinction is made according to the degree, as
(1) the knower of the Brahman (Brahmavid ^[?]) (2) Brahmavid-vara (3) Brahmavid-varya (4) Brahmavid-varishta But all of them are in fact liberated even while alive.

Talk 94 Talk 96

Talk 94

2007-06-25T16:02:00.000+05:30

9th November, 1935
Talk 94.

A man prayed to the Master to pardon his sins. He was told that it would be enough if he took care to see that his mind did not trouble him.

Talk 93 Talk 95

Talk 93

2007-06-24T23:02:00.001+05:30

9th November, 1935
Talk 93.

All are aware of their own Self only. Wonder of wonders! They take what is not as what is, or they see the phenomena apart from the Self. Only so long as there is the knower is there knowledge of all kinds (direct, inferential, intellectual etc.); should the knower vanish they all vanish together with him; their validity is of the same degree as his.

Talk 92 Talk 94

Talk 92

2007-06-23T10:35:00.001+05:30

7th November, 1935
Talk 92.

A visitor said: Some say that one should practise meditation on gross objects only: it may be disastrous if one constantly seeks to kill the mind.

Maharshi: For whom is it disastrous? Can there be disaster apart from the Self?

Unbroken `I-I' is the ocean infinite, the ego, `I' thought, remains only a bubble on it and is called jiva ^[?], i.e., individual soul. The bubble too is water; when it bursts it only mixes in the ocean. When it remains a bubble it is still a part of the ocean. 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. What are they all for? Only for knowing the Self. They are aids and practices required for knowing the Self.
Objects perceived by the senses are spoken of as immediate knowledge (pratyaksha ^[?]). Can anything be as direct as the Self - always experienced without the aid of the senses? Sense-perceptions can only be indirect knowledge, and not direct knowledge. Only one's own awareness is direct knowledge, as is the common experience of one and all. No aids are needed to know one's own Self, i.e., to be aware. The one Infinite Unbroken Whole (plenum) becomes aware of itself as `I'. This is its original name. All other names, e.g., OM, are later growths. Liberation is only to remain aware of the Self. The mahavakya "I am Brahman ^[?]" is its authority. Though the `I' is always experienced, yet one's attention has to be drawn to it. Only then does knowledge dawn. Thus the need for the instruction of the Upanishads and of wise sages.

Talk 91 Talk 93

Talk 91

2007-06-22T10:35:00.001+05:30

6th November, 1935
Talk 91.

A Bengali visitor asked: How is the mind controlled?

Maharshi: What do you call `the mind'?
D.: When I sit down to think of God, thoughts wander away to other objects. I want to control those thoughts.

Maharshi: In the Bhagavad Gita it is said that it is the nature of the mind to wander. One must bring one's thoughts to bear on God. By long practice the mind is controlled and made steady. The wavering of the mind is a weakness arising from the dissipation of its energy in the shape of thoughts. When one makes the mind stick to one thought the energy is conserved, and the mind becomes stronger.
D.: What is the meaning of the strength of the mind?

Maharshi: Its ability to concentrate on one thought without being distracted.

D.: How is that achieved?

Maharshi: By practice. A devotee concentrates on God; a seeker, follower of the jnana-marga, seeks the Self. The practice is equally difficult for both.
D.: Even if the mind is brought to bear on the search for the Self , after a long struggle the mind begins to elude him and the man is not aware of the mischief until after some time.

Maharshi: So it would be. In the earlier stages the mind reverts to the search at long intervals; with continued practice it reverts at shorter intervals until finally it does not wander at all. It is then that the dormant sakti ^[?] manifests.
The satvic mind is free from thoughts whereas the rajasic mind is full of them. The satvic mind resolves itself into the Life-current.
D.: Can one keep the mind away from entering into the phase of thoughts before one experiences the current?

Maharshi: Yes; the current is pre-existent.

Talk 90 Talk 92

Talk 90

2007-06-21T10:35:00.001+05:30

6th November, 1935
Talk 90.

The Holy Spirit depicted as a dove in the stained glass window behind the Cathedra Petri in St. Peter's Basilica, Rome.

Again, the Trinity was explained:
God the Father represents Isvara God the Holy Spirit represents Atman God the Son represents Guru Isvaro gururatmeti murti bheda vibhagine vyomavad vyapta dehaya dakshinamurtaye namah:
Meaning that God appears to his devotee in the form of a Guru (son of God) and points out to him the immanence of the Holy Spirit. That is to say that God is spirit, that this spirit is immanent everywhere and that the Self must be realised, which is the same as realising God.

Talk 89 Talk 91

Talk 89

2007-06-20T10:35:00.001+05:30

6th November, 1935
Talk 89.

Maharshi: Karpura arati ^[?] is symbolic of the burning away of the mind by the light of illumination, vibhuti ^[?] (sacred ashes) is Siva (Absolute Being) and kumkuma (vermilion powder) is Sakti (consciousness). Vibhuti ^[?] is of two kinds: Para vibhuti ^[?] and apara vibhuti ^[?]. The sacred ashes are of the latter class. The para ^[?] is what remains over after all the dross has been burnt away by the Fire of Realisation. It is Absolute Being.

Talk 88 Talk 90

Talk 88

2007-06-19T10:35:00.001+05:30

St. Paul, by El Greco (c. 1608)

6th November, 1935
Talk 88.

The same gentleman (Major Chadwick) asked: What is the significance of Christ in the illumination of St. Paul?

Maharshi: Illumination is absolute, not associated with forms. After St. Paul became Self-conscious he identified the illumination with Christ-consciousness.

D.: But Paul was not a lover of Christ then?

Maharshi: Love or hatred is immaterial. The thought of Christ was there. It is similar to Ravana's case. Christ-consciousness and Self-Realisation are all the same.

Talk 87 Talk 89
See Sayings of Jesus on the Cross | Conversion of St. Paul

Talk 87

2007-06-18T14:52:00.001+05:30

Photo showing Major Chadwick seated next to Chinnaswami. Paul Brunton sitting on other side of calf in suit.

6th November, 1935
Talk 87.

Major A. W. Chadwick, an ardent English devotee, asked, "Why did Jesus call out `My God! My God!' while being crucified?"

Photo shows "Crucifixion" by Diego Velasquez, 17th c.

Maharshi: It might have been an intercession on behalf of the two thieves who were crucified with Him. Again, a Jnani ^[?] has attained liberation even while alive, here and now. It is immaterial as to how, where and when he leaves his body. Some jnanis may appear to suffer, others may be in samadhi, still others may disappear from sight before death.

But that makes no difference to their jnana. Such suffering is apparent only to the onlooker and not to the Jnani, for he has already transcended the mistaken identity of the Self with the body.

Talk 86 Talk 88 | See Major Chadwick | Major Chadwick Photos | Sayings of Jesus on the cross

Talk 86

2007-06-17T10:35:00.000+05:30

Photo of "Sermon on the Mount" by Heinrich Bloch, 19th c.

6th November, 1935
Talk 86.

The Master gave the true significance of the Christian faith thus:
Christ is the ego. The Cross is the body. When the ego is crucified, and it perishes, what survives is the Absolute Being (God), (cf. "I and my Father are one") and this glorious survival is called Resurrection.

Talk 85 Talk 87

Talk 85

2007-06-16T10:35:00.000+05:30

16th October, 1935
Talk 85.

The same gentleman asked the Master about the material relation between memory and will and their relation to the mind.

Maharshi: They are functions of the mind. The mind is the outcome of the ego and the ego is from the Self.

Talk 84 Talk 86

Talk 84

2007-06-15T10:35:00.000+05:30

16th October, 1935
Talk 84.

Mr. Grant Duff asked the Master if any mongoose had had anything to do with him. The Master said, "Yes. It was the occasion of Ardra and Jayanti, I was living up the hill in Skandasramam. Streams of visitors were climbing up the hill from the town. A mongoose, larger than the ordinary size, of golden hue (not grey as a mongoose is), with no black spot on its tail as is usual with the wild mongoose, passed these crowds fearlessly. People took it to be a tame one belonging to someone in the crowd. The animal went straight to Palaniswami, who was having a bath in the spring by the Virupaksha Cave. He stroked the creature and patted it. It followed him into the cave, inspected every nook and corner and left the place and joined the crowd to pass up to Skandasramam.

I noticed it. Everyone was struck by its attractive appearance and its fearless movements. It came up to me, got on my lap and rested there some time. Then it raised itself up, looked about and moved down; it went round the whole place and I followed it lest it should be harmed by the unwary visitors or by the peacocks. Two peacocks of the place looked at it inquisitively, whereas the mongoose moved nonchalantly from place to place and finally disappeared into the rocks on the south-east of the Asramam."

Talk 83 Talk 85

Talk 83

2007-06-14T10:35:00.001+05:30

Tindivanam Railway Station

16th October, 1935
Talk 83.

The Master relating some stories of the bhaktas told how Sri Krishna served Eknath for twelve years, how Panduranga relieved Sakku Bai from her home prison and enabled her to visit Pandharpur.
Then he recollected the appearance of a mysterious Moulvi on his way from Madura to Tiruvannamalai in 1896, how he appeared, spoke and disappeared suddenly.

Talk 82 Talk 84

Talk 82

2007-06-13T10:35:00.001+05:30

16th October, 1935
Talk 82.

A question was raised about the differences in the various samadhis.

Maharshi: When the senses are merged in darkness it is deep sleep; when merged in light it is samadhi. Just as a passenger when asleep in a carriage is unaware of the motion, the halting or the unharnessing of the horses, so also a Jnani ^[?] in sahaja samadhi ^[?] is unaware of the happenings, waking, dream and deep sleep.

Here sleep corresponds to the unharnessing of the horses. And samadhi corresponds to the halting of the horses, because the senses are ready to act just as the horses are ready to move after halting. In samadhi the head does not bend down because the senses are there though inactive; whereas the head bends down in sleep because the senses are merged in darkness. In kevala samadhi ^[?], the activities (vital and mental), waking, dream and sleep, are only merged, ready to emerge after regaining the state other than samadhi.

In sahaja ^[?] samadhi the activities, vital and mental, and the three states are destroyed, never to reappear. However, others notice the Jnani active e.g., eating, talking, moving etc. He is not himself aware of these activities, whereas others are aware of his activities. They pertain to his body and not to his Real Self, swarupa. For himself, he is like the sleeping passenger - or like a child interrupted from sound sleep and fed, being unaware of it. The child says the next day that he did not take milk at all and that he went to sleep without it. Even when reminded he cannot be convinced. So also in sahaja samadhi. Sushumna pare leena. Here sushumna ^[?] refers to tapo marge whereas the para nadi ^[?] refers to jnana marga ^[?].

Talk 81 Talk 83

Talk 81

2007-06-12T10:35:00.001+05:30

15th October, 1935
Talk 81.

Dr. Bernhard Bey, an American Chemist who had interested himself in Vedanta for the last twenty years, now in India, came on a visit to the Master. He asked: "How is abhyasa ^[?] to be made? I am trying to find the Light." (He himself explained abhyasa as concentration = one-pointedness of mind.)
The Master asked, what was his abhyasa till now.

The visitor said he concentrated on the nasal base, but his mind wandered.

Maharshi: Is there a mind?
Another devotee gently put in: The mind is only a collection of thoughts.

Maharshi: To whom are the thoughts? If you try to locate the mind, the mind vanishes and the Self alone remains. Being alone, there can be no one-pointedness or otherwise.
D.: It is so difficult to understand this. If something concrete is said , it can be readily grasped. Japa, dhyana, etc., are more concrete.

Maharshi: `Who am I??' is the best japa ^[?].
What could be more concrete than the Self? It is within each one's experience every moment. Why should he try to catch anything outside, leaving out the Self? Let each one try to find out the known Self instead of searching for the unknown something beyond.
D.: Where shall I meditate on the Atman? I mean in which part of the body?

Maharshi: The Self should manifest itself. That is all that is wanted.
A devotee gently added: On the right of the chest, there is the Heart , the seat of the Atman. Another devotee: The illumination is in that centre when the Self is realised.

Maharshi: Quite so.
D.: How to turn the mind away from the world?

Maharshi: Is there the world? I mean apart from the Self? Does the world say that it exists? It is you who say that there is a world. Find out the Self who says it.

Talk 80 Talk 82

Talk 80

2007-06-11T10:35:00.001+05:30

3rd October, 1935
Talk 80.

A very devoted and simple disciple had lost his only son, a child of three years. The next day he arrived at the Asramam with his family. The Master spoke with reference to them: "Training of mind helps one to bear sorrows and bereavements with courage. But the loss of one's offspring is said to be the worst of all griefs. Grief exists only so long as one considers oneself to be of a definite form. If the form is transcended one will know that the one Self is eternal. There is no death nor birth. That which is born is only the body. The body is the creation of the ego. But the ego is not ordinarily perceived without the body. It is always identified with the body. It is the thought which matters. Let the sensible man consider if he knew his body in deep sleep. Why does he feel it in the waking state? But, although the body was not felt in sleep, did not the Self exist then? How was he in deep sleep? How is he when awake? What is the difference? Ego rises up and that is waking.

Simultaneously thoughts arise. Let him find out to whom are the thoughts. Wherefrom do they arise? They must spring up from the conscious Self. Apprehending it even vaguely helps the extinction of the ego. Thereafter the realisation of the one Infinite Existence becomes possible. In that state there are no individuals other than the Eternal Existence. Hence there is no thought of death or wailing.

"If a man considers he is born he cannot avoid the fear of death. Let him find out if he has been born or if the Self has any birth. He will discover that the Self always exists, that the body which is born resolves itself into thought and that the emergence of thought is the root of all mischief. Find wherefrom thoughts emerge. Then you will abide in the ever-present inmost Self and be free from the idea of birth or the fear of death."

A disciple asked how to do it.

Maharshi: The thoughts are only vasanas (predispositions), accumulated in innumerable births before. Their annihilation is the aim. The state free from vasanas is the primal state and eternal state of purity.

D.: It is not clear yet.

Maharshi: Everyone is aware of the eternal Self. He sees so many dying but still believes himself eternal. Because it is the Truth. Unwillingly the natural Truth asserts itself. The man is deluded by the intermingling of the conscious Self with the insentient body. This delusion must end.

D.: How will it end?

Maharshi: That which is born must end. The delusion is only concomitant with the ego. It rises up and sinks. But the Reality never rises nor sinks. It remains Eternal. The master who has realised says so; the disciple hears, thinks over the words and realises the Self. There are two ways of putting it. The ever-present Self needs no efforts to be realised, Realisation is already there. Illusion alone is to be removed. Some say the word from the mouth of the Master removes it instantaneously. Others say that meditation, etc., are necessary for realisation. Both are right; only the standpoints differ.

D.: Is dhyana ^[?] necessary?

Maharshi: The Upanishads say that even the Earth is in eternal dhyana.

D.: How does Karma help it? Will it not add to the already heavy load to be removed?

Maharshi: Karma done unselfishly purifies the mind and helps to fix it in meditation.
D.: What if one meditates incessantly without Karma?

Maharshi: Try and see. The vasanas will not let you do it. Dhyana ^[?] comes only step by step with the gradual weakening of the vasanas by the Grace of the Master.

Talk 79 Talk 81

Talk 79

2007-06-10T10:35:00.001+05:30

29th September, 1935
Talk 79.

An engineer asked: "The animals seem to conform to their own natural laws in spite of their environment and changes. Whereas man flouts social law and is not bound by any definite system. He seems to be degenerating whereas the animals are steady. Is it not so?"

Maharshi: (After a long time). The Upanishads and scriptures say that human beings are only animals unless they are realised beings. Possibly, they are worse also.

Talk 78 Talk 80

Talk 78

2007-06-09T10:36:00.001+05:30

29th September, 1935
Talk 78.

A man from Masulla asked the Master: "How to realise the Self?"

Maharshi: Everyone has experience of the Self every moment of his life.
D.: But the Self is not realised as one would like.

Maharshi: Yes. The present experience is viparita ^[?] - different from real. What is not is confounded with what is.
D.: How to find the Atman?

Maharshi: There is no investigation into the Atman. The investigation can only be into the non-self. Elimination of the non-self is alone possible. The Self being always self evident will shine forth of itself. The Self is called by different names - Atman, God, Kundalini, mantra ^[?], etc. Hold any one of them and the Self becomes manifest. God is no other than the Self. Kundalini ^[?] is now showing forth as the mind. When the mind is traced to its source it is Kundalini. Mantra ^[?] japa ^[?] leads to elimination of other thoughts and to concentration on the mantra. The mantra finally merges into the Self and shines forth as the Self.

Tenamma (back row), Annamalai Swami (standing), Yogi Ramaiah (sitting), Ganapati Sastri (behind Chinnaswamy), Mudaliar Patti (obscuring Santamma)

D.: How long is a Guru necessary for Self-Realisation?

Maharshi: Guru is necessary so long as there is the laghu ^[?]. (Pun on Guru = heavy; laghu = light). Laghu ^[?] is due to the self-imposed but wrong limitation of the Self. God, on being worshipped, bestows steadiness in devotion which leads to surrender. On the devotee surrendering, God shows His mercy by manifesting as the Guru. The Guru, otherwise God, guides the devotee, saying that God is in you and He is the Self. This leads to introversion of the mind and finally to realisation. Effort is necessary up to the state of realisation. Even then the Self should spontaneously become evident. Otherwise happiness will not be complete. Up to that state of spontaneity there must be effort in some form or another.

D.: Our work-a-day life is not compatible with such efforts.

Maharshi: Why do you think that you are active? Take the gross example of your arrival here. You left home in a cart, took train, alighted at the Railway Station here, got into a cart there and found yourself in this Asramam. When asked, you say that you travelled here all the way from your town. Is it true? Is it not a fact that you remained as you were and there were movements of conveyances all along the way. Just as those movements are confounded with your own, so also the other activities. They are not your own. They are God's activities.

D.: Such idea will lead to blankness of mind and the work will not progress well.

Maharshi: Go up to that blankness and tell me afterwards.

D.: They say that a visit to Sages helps Self-Realisation?

Maharshi: Yes. So it does.

D.: Will not my present visit to you bring it about?

Maharshi: (After a short pause) What is to be brought about? To whom?
Consider; investigate. To whom is this doubt. If the source is traced the doubt will disappear.

Talk 77 Talk 79

Talk 77

2007-06-08T10:35:00.001+05:30

29th September, 1935
Talk 77.

The Master, while referring to the Bible for "Be still and know that I am God", Psalm 46, found in the Ecclesiastes. "There is one alone and there is no second" and "The wise man's heart is at the right hand and a fool's heart is at the left."

Talk 76 Talk 78

Talk 76

2007-06-07T10:35:00.001+05:30

29th September, 1935
Talk 76.

Mr. K. S. N. Iyer said that he was not convinced how spiritual life could be reconciled to worldly activities. The Master in answer cited some verses from Yoga Vasishta. (The original is said to be millions of verses, of which only 32,000 stanzas are now found in the Sanskrit text. It was condensed to 6,000 and called Laghu Vasishta. The latter has been rendered in Tamil in 2,050 stanzas).
D.: Without the mind concentrating on it the work cannot be performed satisfactorily. How is the mind to be spiritually disposed and the work kept going as well?

Maharshi:

The mind is only a projection from the Self, appearing in the waking state. In deep sleep, you do not say whose son you are and so on. As soon as you wake up you say you are so and so, and recognise the world and so on. The world is only lokah ,lokah = lokyate iti lokah (what is perceived is the world).

That which is seen is lokah or the world. Which is the eye that sees it? That is the ego which rises and sinks periodically. But you exist always. Therefore That which lies beyond the ego is consciousness - the Self. In deep sleep mind is merged and not destroyed. That which merges reappears. It may happen in meditation also. But the mind which is destroyed cannot reappear. The yogi's aim must be to destroy it and not to sink in laya ^[?]. In the peace of dhyana ^[?], laya ensues but it is not enough. It must be supplemented by other practices for destroying the mind. Some people have gone into samadhi with a trifling thought and after a long time awakened in the trail of the same thought. In the meantime generations have passed away in the world. Such a yogi has not destroyed his mind. Its destruction is the non-recognition of it as being apart from the Self. Even now the mind is not. Recognise it. How can you do it if not in everyday activities. They go on automatically. Know that the mind promoting them is not real but a phantom proceeding from the Self. That is how the mind is destroyed.

Talk 75 Talk 77

Talk 75

2007-06-06T10:35:00.001+05:30

Bhagavan and Devotees

27th September, 1935
Talk 75.

Mr. Grant Duff, formerly in a foreign embassy, writes: …. Pay my respects to Maharshi. He appears to me in my thoughts not only as an answer to my questions but also as Presence….

Talk 74 Talk 76

For a photo of Mr. Grant Duff, please see Living with the Words of Bhagavan, p82-3

Talk 74

2007-06-05T10:35:00.001+05:30

27th September, 1935
Talk 74.

Mr. Frydman, the engineer, writes in one of his letters: "Maharshi is with me not only when I think of Him but also when I am not thinking of Him. Otherwise, how do I live?"

For a photo of Mr. Maurice Frydman, please see Living by the Words of Bhagavan, p 130.
For more on Mr. Frydman see this.
Talk 73 Talk 75
The Mystery of the missing photograph from The Silent Power

Talk 73

2007-06-04T10:35:00.001+05:30

27th September, 1935
Talk 73.

Mr. Ekanatha Rao, the engineer, asked, "What about the despondency of not obtaining any encouragement from the Master - much less his Grace?"

Maharshi: It is ignorance only. The quest must be made as to who is despondent and so on. It is the phantom of the ego arising after sleep which falls a prey to such thoughts. In deep sleep the person was not afflicted. Who is afflicted now while awake? The sleep state is about the normal one. Let him search and find out.
D.: But there is no incentive for want of encouragement.

Maharshi: Does not one find some kind of peace while in meditation? That is the sign of progress. That peace will be deeper and more prolonged with continued practice. It will also lead to the goal. Bhagavad
Gita - Chapter XIV - the final verses speak of gunatita ^[?] (one who has transcended the gunas ^[?]). That is the final stage. The earlier stages are asuddha satva (impure being), misra satva (mixed being), and suddha satva (Pure Being). Of these, the impure being is when overpowered by rajas ^[?] and tamas ^[?]; the mixed being is that state in which the being - satva - asserts itself spasmodically; the suddha satva overpowers rajas and tamas. After these successive stages there comes the state transcending gunas.

Talk 72 Talk 74

Talk 72

2007-06-03T10:35:00.001+05:30

25th September, 1935
Talk 72.

Mr. K. S. N. Iyer, a railway officer, asked about japa ^[?].

Maharshi: The utterance and then remembrance and later meditation are the successive stages finally ending in involuntary and eternal japa. The japakarta (doer of japa) of that kind is the Self. Of all the japas, `Who am I??' is the best.

Talk 71 Talk 73

Talk 71

2007-06-02T10:31:00.000+05:30

24th July, 1935
Talk 71.

Chronological Sequence of the Master' s Stay in Different Places at Tiruvannamalai
1896. Arrived at Tiruvannamalai and stayed in the temple premises, beneath the tree, in the interior of the underground cellar, Pathala Lingam, sometimes in the gopurams, etc.
1897 (early), removed to Gurumurtam. Stayed in the shrine and in the adjoining mango grove (18 months).
1898 (September) in Pavalakunru.
1899 (February) on the hill in caves, the mango tree cave and Virupaksha cave.
1905. Stayed in Pachiamman Koil for six months during the plague ravages. Again on the hill.
1908. January, February and March in Pachiamman Koil. Again on the hill.
1916. Skandasramam.
1922. The Ramanasramam site on the southern slope of the Hill.

(Photo of Patala Lingam from http://davidgodman.org/rteach/jd1.shtml)

Talk 70 Talk 72

Talk 70

2007-06-01T10:29:00.000+05:30

24th July, 1935
Talk 70.

Sri Raju Sastrigal asked Sri Bhagavan about nada ^[?], bindu ^[?] and kala ^[?].

Maharshi: They are in Vedanta terminology prana, mana, buddhi (the life-current, mind and intellect). In the Tantras nada is said to be subtle sound with tejas ^[?] - light - in it. This light is said to be the body of Siva. When it develops and sound is submerged, it becomes bindu. To be full of light (tejomaya ^[?]) is the aim. Kala ^[?] is a part of the bindu.

Talk 69 Talk 71

Talk 69

2007-05-31T10:35:00.001+05:30

21st July, 1935
Talk 69.

There were reports of the above said Professor's University lectures in the Hindu. The lecturer had emphasised the necessity for birth control and discussed the various possibilities of making the man feel his responsibilities so that birth control might be automatic. The Master, on hearing it, casually remarked. "Let them find out the method of dying." [Here death refers to that of the ego (ahankar).]

Talk 68 Talk 70

Talk 68

2007-05-30T10:35:00.001+05:30

21st July, 1935
Talk 68.

Dr. Radhakamal Mukerjee, a well-known Professor, fair man of middle age, with a peaceful look, practising yoga or meditation, has had some occult experiences and desires the mystery to be unravelled by the Master. He has written a book and had it published by Messrs. Longmans Green & Co., London. He finds Self-Realisation hard to attain and requires the Master's help. His question: "The upanishadic method of meditation has now disappeared. There was a great sage in Bengal who instructed me in it. After long years of discipline and practice I am having some mystic experiences. I feel sometimes that Bhuma ^[?] (Supreme Consciousness) is infinitude and that I am finite consciousness. Is that correct?"

Maharshi: Bhuma (Perfection) alone is. It is Infinite. There arises from it this finite consciousness taking on an upadhi ^[?] (limiting adjunct). This is abhasa ^[?] or reflection. Merge this individual consciousness into the Supreme One. That is what should be done.
D.: Bhuma is an attribute of Supreme Consciousness.

Maharshi: Bhuma is the Supreme - yatra naanyat pasyati yatra naanyat
srunoti sa bhuma (where one does not see any other, hears nothing, it is Perfection). It is indefinable and indescribable. It is as it is.
D.: There is a vastness experienced. Probably it is just below Bhuma
but close to it. Am I right?

Maharshi: Bhuma alone is. Nothing else. It is the mind, which says all this.
D.: Transcending the mind I feel the vastness.

Maharshi: Yes, Yes…. The professor turned to the lady seated just a little further away from him and interpreted in Hindi to her.
She: What is the difference between meditation and distraction?

Maharshi: No difference. When there are thoughts, it is distraction: when there are no thoughts, it is meditation. However, meditation is only practice (as distinguished from the real state of Peace.)
She: How to practice meditation?

Maharshi: Keep off thoughts. She: How to reconcile work with meditation?

Maharshi: Who is the worker? Let him who works ask the question. You are always the Self. You are not the mind. It is the mind which raises these questions. Work proceeds, always in the presence of the Self only. Work is no hindrance to realisation. It is the mistaken identity of the worker that troubles one. Get rid of the false identity.

2006 Photo of entrance to Virupaksha Cave where Bhagavan stayed from 1899 to 1916

The Professor: Is not the state of non-consciousness close to Infinite Consciousness?

Maharshi: Consciousness alone remains and nothing more.
D.: Sri Bhagavan's silence is itself a powerful force. It brings about a certain peace of mind in us.

Maharshi: Silence is never-ending speech. Vocal speech obstructs the other speech of silence. In silence one is in intimate contact with the surroundings. The silence of Dakshinamurti removed the doubts of the four sages. Mouna vyakhya prakatita tatvam (Truth expounded by silence.) Silence is said to be exposition. Silence is so potent. For vocal speech, organs of speech are necessary and they precede speech. But the other speech lies even beyond thought. It is in short transcendent speech or unspoken words, para vak.
D.: Is there knowledge in Realisation?

Maharshi: Absence of knowledge is sleep. There is knowledge in Realisation.
But this knowledge differs from the ordinary one of the relation of subject and object. It is absolute knowledge. Knowledge has two meanings: (1) vachyartha ^[?] = vritti ^[?] = Literal meaning. (2) lakshyartha ^[?] = Jnana = Self = Swarupa = Secondary significance.
D.: With vritti one sees knowledge.

Maharshi: Quite so, he also confounds vritti with knowledge. Vritti ^[?] is a mode of mind. You are not the mind. You are beyond it.
The Lady: There is sometimes an irresistible desire to remain in Brahma-akara-vritti.

Maharshi: It is good. It must be cultivated until it becomes sahaja ^[?] (natural).
Then it culminates as swarupa, one's own self. Later Sri Bhagavan explained: Vritti is often mistaken for consciousness. It is only a phenomenon and operates in the region of abhasa (reflected consciousness). The knowledge lies beyond relative knowledge and ignorance. It is not in the shape of vritti. There are no subject and object in it. Vritti belongs to the rajasic (active) mind. The satvic mind (mind is repose) is free from it. The satvic is the witness of the rajasic. It is no doubt true consciousness. Still it is called satvic mind because the knowledge of being witness is the function of abhasa (reflected consciousness) only. Mind is the abhasa. Such knowledge implies mind. But the mind is by itself inoperative. Therefore it is called satvic mind. Such is the jivanmukta's state. It is also said that his mind is dead. Is it not a paradox that a jivanmukta ^[?] has a mind and that it is dead? This has to be conceded in argument with ignorant folk. It is also said that Brahman is only the jivanmukta's mind. How can one speak of him as Brahmavid ^[?] (knower of Brahman). Brahman can never be an object to be known. This is, however, in accordance with common parlance. Satvic mind is surmised of the jivanmukta and of Iswara. "Otherwise," they argue, "how does the jivanmukta live and act?" The satvic mind has to be admitted as a concession to argument. The satvic mind is in fact the Absolute consciousness. The object to be witnessed and the witness finally merge together and Absolute consciousness alone reigns supreme. It is not a state of sunya ^[?] (blank) or ignorance. It is the swarupa (Real Self). Some say that mind arises from consciousness followed by reflection (abhasa); others say that the abhasa (reflection) arises first followed by the mind. In fact both are simultaneous. The Professor asked Sri Bhagavan to extend His Grace to him although he would soon be a thousand miles off. Sri Bhagavan said that time and space are only concepts of mind. But swarupa (the Real Self) lies beyond mind, time and space. Distance does not count in the Self. The lady with him was most reluctant to leave the Master and return home.

The Master said, "Think that you are always in my presence. That will make you feel right." They left after dusk.

(Photo of entrance of Virupaksha Cave is self-taken, free to copy/use)

Talk 67 Talk 69

Talk 67

2007-05-29T10:21:00.001+05:30

21st July, 1935
Talk 67.

A visitor, Mr. K. S. N. Iyer of the South Indian Railway, said, "There is a trifling halting-place in my meditation. When I ask myself, `Who am I?' my reasoning proceeds as follows; I see my hand. Who sees it? My eye. How to see the eye? In a mirror. Similarly to see me, there must be a mirror. `Which is to supply the place of the mirror in me?' is my question."

Maharshi: Then why do you enquire, "Who am I??" Why do you say you are troubled and so on? You could as well remain quiet. Why do you rise out of your composure?
D.: Enquiring thus helps me to concentrate. Is concentration the only benefit?

Maharshi: What more do you want? Concentration is the thing. What makes you come out of your quiet?
D.: Because I am drawn out.

Maharshi: Enquiry of "Who am I?" means finding the source of `I'. When that is found, that which you seek is accomplished. (The gist of Sri Bhagavan's words seems to be that one should make a concerted effort and not give it up baffled, with a defeatist mentality.)

Talk 66 Talk 68

Talk 66

2007-05-28T11:21:00.001+05:30

15th July, 1935
Talk 66.

A letter was received containing some learned questions pertaining to memory, sleep and death. It looked, at first sight, that they were cogent yet baffling to answer. But when the Master was approached on the subject he disentangled the skein very nicely, pointing out that all such confusion was due to the non-differentiation of the real `I' from the false `I'. The attributes and modes pertain to the latter and not to the former. One's efforts are directed only to remove one's ignorance. Afterwards they cease, and the real Self is found to be always there. No effort is needed to remain as the Self.

Talk 65 Talk 67

Talk 65

2007-05-27T11:59:00.001+05:30

13th July, 1935
Talk 65.

A visitor: Is the jagat ^[?] (world) perceived even after Self-Realization?

Maharshi: From whom is this question? Is it from a Jnani ^[?] or from an ajnani ^[?]?
D.: From an ajnani.

Maharshi: Realise to whom the question arises. It can be answered if it arises after knowing the doubter. Can the jagat or the body say that it is? Or does the seer say that the jagat or the body is? The seer must be there to see the objects. Find out the seer first. Why worry yourself now with what will be in the hereafter? Sri Bhagavan continued: What does it matter if the jagat is perceived or not perceived? Have you lost anything by your perception of jagat now? Or do you gain anything where there is no such perception in your deep sleep? It is immaterial whether the world is perceived or not perceived. The ajnani sees the Jnani active and is confounded. The jagat is perceived by both; but their outlooks differ. Take the instance of the cinema. There are pictures moving on the screen. Go and hold them. What do you hold? It is only the screen. Let the pictures disappear. What remains over? The screen again. So also here. Even when the world appears, see to whom it appears. Hold the substratum of the `I'. After the substratum is held what does it matter if the world appears or disappears? The ajnani takes the world to be real; whereas the Jnani sees it only as the manifestation of the Self. It is immaterial if the Self manifests itself or ceases to do so.

Talk 64 Talk 66

Talk 64

2007-05-26T10:35:00.000+05:30

6th July, 1935
Talk 64.

News of someone's death was brought to Sri Bhagavan. He said, "Good. The dead are indeed happy. They have got rid of the troublesome overgrowth - the body. The dead man does not grieve.

The survivors grieve for the man who is dead. Do men fear sleep? On the contrary sleep is courted and on waking up every man says that he slept happily. One prepares the bed for sound sleep. Sleep is temporary death. Death is longer sleep. If the man dies while yet alive he need not grieve over others' death. One's existence is evident with or without the body, as in waking, dream and sleep. Then why should one desire continuance of the bodily shackles? Let the man find out his undying Self and die and be immortal and happy."

Talk 63 Talk 65

Talk 63

2007-05-25T10:35:00.000+05:30

6th July, 1935
Talk 63.

A high officer asked: If juniors are promoted over oneself the mind is perturbed. Will the enquiry, `Who am I??' help the man to soothe the mind under such circumstances?

Maharshi: Yes. Quite so. The enquiry `Who am I?' turns the mind inward and makes it calm.
D.: I have faith in murti dhyana (worship of form). Will it not help me to gain jnana?

Maharshi: Surely it will. Upasana ^[?] helps concentration of mind. Then the mind is free from other thoughts and is full of the meditated form. The mind becomes it - and thus quite pure. Then think who is the worshipper. The answer is `I', i.e., the Self. So the Self is gained ultimately. The present difficulty is that the man thinks that he is the doer. But it is a mistake. It is the Higher Power which does everything and the man is only a tool. If he accepts that position he is free from troubles; otherwise he courts them. Take for instance, the figure in a gopuram ^[?] (temple tower), where it is made to appear to bear the burden of the tower on its shoulders. Its posture and look are a picture of great strain while bearing the very heavy burden of the tower. But think. The tower is built on the earth and it rests on its foundations. The figure (like Atlas bearing the earth) is a part of the tower, but is made to look as if it bore the tower. Is it not funny? So is the man who takes on himself the sense of doing. Then the Malayalam version of Ulladu Narpadu was read out by a devotee for the benefit of the visitor. After hearing it, he asked: What about the reference to duality in practice and unity at the end?

Maharshi: Some people think that one must begin practice with dualistic idea.
It refers to them. They say that there is God; the man must worship and meditate; ultimately the jiva ^[?] merges into God. Others say that the Supreme Being and the jiva are always apart and never merge into each other. Howsoever it may be at the end, let us not trouble ourselves about it now. All are agreed that the jiva IS. Let the man find out the jiva, i.e., his Self. Then there will be time to find out if the Self should merge in the Supreme, is a part thereof, or remains different from it. Let us not forestall the conclusion. Keep an open mind, dive within and find out the Self. The truth will itself dawn upon you. Why should you determine beforehand if the finality is unity absolute or qualified, or duality? There is no meaning in it. The ascertainment is now made by logic and by intellect. The intellect derives light from the Self (the Higher Power). How can the reflected and partial light of the intellect envisage the whole and the original Light? The intellect cannot reach the Self and how can it ascertain its nature? Such is the significance of the reference.
D.: One of the stanzas says that the scriptures so scrupulously studied in the earlier stages are ultimately of no use. At what stage do they become useless?

Maharshi: When their essence is realised. The scriptures are useful to indicate the existence of the Higher Power (the Self) and the way to gain it. Their essence is that much only. When that is assimilated the rest is useless. But they are voluminous, adapted to the development of the seeker. As one rising up in the scale finds the regions one has passed to be only steps to the higher stage, and so on, the steps ascended become purvapaksha successively until the goal is gained. When the goal is reached it remains alone, and all the rest becomes useless. That is how the sastras become useless. We read so much. Do we remember all that we read? But have we forgotten the essentials? The essential soaks in the mind and the rest is forgotten. So it is with the sastras. The fact is that the man considers himself limited and there arises the trouble. The idea is wrong. He can see it for himself. In sleep there was no world, no ego (no limited self), and no trouble. Something wakes up from that happy state and says `I'. To that ego the world appears. Being a speck in the world he wants more and gets into trouble. How happy he was before the rising of the ego! Only the rise of the ego is the cause of the present trouble. Let him trace the ego to its source and he will reach that undifferentiated happy state which is sleepless sleep. The Self remains ever the same, here and now. There is nothing more to be gained. Because the limitations have wrongly been assumed there is the need to transcend them.

TENTH MAN: It is like the ten ignorant fools who forded a stream and on reaching the other shore counted themselves to be nine only. They grew anxious and grieved over the loss of the unknown tenth man. A wayfarer, on ascertaining the cause of their grief, counted them all and found them to be ten. But each one of them had counted the others leaving himself out. The wayfarer gave each in succession a blow telling them to count the blows. They counted ten and were satisfied. The moral is that the tenth man was not got anew. He was all along there, but ignorance caused grief to all of them.

LOST NECKLACE: Again, a woman wore a necklace round her neck but forgot it. She began to search for it and made enquiries. A friend of hers, finding out what she was looking for, pointed out the necklace round the seeker's neck. She felt it with her hands and was happy. Did she get the necklace anew? Here again ignorance caused grief and knowledge happiness. Similarly also with the man and the Self. There is nothing to be gained anew. Ignorance of the Self is the cause of the present misery; knowledge of the Self brings about happiness.

Moreover, if anything is to be got anew it implies its previous absence. What remained once absent might vanish again. So there would be no permanency in salvation. Salvation is permanent because the Self is here and now and eternal. Thus the man's efforts are directed towards the removal of ignorance. Wisdom seems to dawn, though it is natural and ever present. The visitor, while taking leave, saluted the master, and said, "It is said that the victim in the tiger's mouth is gone for ever." The reference is to a passage in Who am I? where it is stated that a disciple can never revert to the world after he has once fallen into the field of the Guru's gracious look as surely as the prey in the tiger's jaws cannot escape.

(Photo of Bhagavan is copyright Sri Ramanasramam)
Talk 62 Talk 64

Talk 62

2007-05-24T10:35:00.001+05:30

6th July, 1935
Talk 62.

Mr. Ekanatha Rao: What is sphurana ^[?] (a kind of indescribable but palpable sensation in the heart centre)?

Maharshi: Sphurana ^[?] is felt on several occasions, such as in fear, excitement , etc. Although it is always and all over, yet it is felt at a particular centre and on particular occasions. It is also associated with antecedent causes and confounded with the body. Whereas, it is all alone and pure; it is the Self. If the mind be fixed on the sphurana and one senses it continuously and automatically it is realisation. Again sphurana is the foretaste of Realisation. It is pure. The subject and object proceed from it. If the man mistakes himself for the subject, objects must necessarily appear different from him. They are periodically withdrawn and projected, creating the world and the subject's enjoyment of the same. If, on the other hand, the man feels himself to be the screen on which the subject and object are projected there can be no confusion, and he can remain watching their appearance and disappearance without any perturbation to the Self.

Talk 61 Talk 63

Talk 61

2007-05-23T10:35:00.001+05:30

6th July, 1935
Talk 61.

Mr. Ekanatha Rao: How is dhyana ^[?] practised - with eyes open or closed?

Maharshi: It may be done either way. The point is that the mind must be introverted and kept active in its pursuit. Sometimes it happens that when the eyes are closed the latent thoughts rush forth with great vigour. It may also be difficult to introvert the mind with the eyes open. It requires strength of mind to do so. The mind is contaminated when it takes in objects. Otherwise, it is pure. The main factor in dhyana is to keep the mind active in its own pursuit without taking in external impressions or thinking of other matters.

Talk 60 Talk 62

Talk 60

2007-05-22T10:35:00.001+05:30

5th July, 1935 ON MOUNA (SILENCE)

Talk 60.

Sri Bhagavan: The silence of solitude is forced. Restrained speech in society amounts to silence. For the man then controls his speech. The speaker must come forth before he speaks. If engaged otherwise speech is restrained. Introverted mind is otherwise active and is not anxious to speak.
Mouna as a disciplinary measure is meant for limiting the mental activities due to speech. If the mind is otherwise controlled disciplinary mouna is unnecessary. For mouna becomes natural. Vidyaranya has said that twelve years' forced mouna brings about absolute mouna - that is, makes one unable to speak. It is more like a mute animal than otherwise. That is not mouna. Mouna is constant speech. Inactivity is constant activity.

Talk 59 Talk 61

Talk 59

2007-05-21T10:35:00.001+05:30

4th July, 1935
Talk 59.

A moulvi asked: How does sleep overtake one?

Maharshi: If the enquirer knows who is awake in the wakeful condition he will also know how sleep comes on. The enquiry arises only to the waking man and not to the sleeper. It must be easier to know the waking Self than the sleeping Self.
D.: I know how I awoke. But I do not know how sleep comes on. I
am aware of my wakeful state. For instance if anyone takes away my stick I prevent his doing so, whereas I cannot do so in sleep or in dream. The proof of wakefulness is evident. But what is the proof of sleep?

Maharshi: Your ignorance is the evidence of sleep: your awareness is that of wakefulness.
D.: My wakefulness is known by the opening of my eye. But how does sleep overtake me?

Maharshi: In the same way as sleep overtakes you, wakefulness also overtakes you.
D.: But I do not perceive how sleep comes on in the same way as I
know my wakefulness.

Maharshi: Never mind.
D.: Please describe what is sleep, without illustrations. Sleep by itself should be known. I want a real picture of sleep.

Maharshi: Such picture is sleep itself.
D.: Is it better to reach salvation, being married, or being a hermit?

Maharshi: Whatever you think better.
D.: Visvamitra had no fall when in the married state, whereas he had a fall in his hermit life. Does it not apply to others also?

Maharshi: Visvamitra was as pure in the hermit life as when he was married.
There was no difference. He was as contaminated when married as when he was a hermit.
D.: Was he a rishi?

Maharshi: When contaminated he was not a rishi.
D.: Can he become a rishi even afterwards?

Maharshi: Yes. By proper bhakti ^[?] he could become a good rishi. Repentance and prayer will set him right.
D.: With all your penance for so many years what have you got?

Maharshi: I have got what need be got. I see what need be seen.
D.: Can all see the same?

Maharshi: I see only just what all do. It is immanent in all.
D.: Is this the way for seeing It?

Maharshi: Method may be anything. From whatever directions the pilgrims may foregather, they must enter the Kaaba only by one route (passage) or all gather only to enter the Kaaba.
D.: Please tell me two upadesas on the way to salvation as known by you.

Maharshi: What upadesa ^[?] do I know? Everything is upadesa. Worship of God is the only upadesa.

Talk 58 Talk 60

Talk 58

2007-05-20T10:35:00.001+05:30

4th July, 1935 SRIMAD BHAGAVAD GITA

Talk 58.

Mr. Ranganathan, I. C. S: In Srimad Bhagavad Gita there is a passage:
One's own dharma is the best; an alien dharma is full of risks. What is the significance of one's own dharma?

Maharshi: It is usually interpreted to mean the duties of the orders and of the different castes. The physical environment must also be taken into consideration.
D.: If varnasrama dharma ^[?] be meant, such dharma prevails only in India. On the other hand the Gita should be universally applicable.

Maharshi: There is varnasrama in some form or other in every land. The significance is that one should hold on to the single Atman and not swerve therefrom. That is the whole gist of it. sva = one's own, i.e., of the Self, of the Atman. para ^[?] = the other's, i.e., of the non-self, of the anatma. Atma Dharma is inherence in the Self. There will be no distraction and no fear. Troubles arise only when there is a second to oneself. If the Atman be realised to be only unitary, there is no second and therefore no cause for fear. The man, as he is now, confounds the
anatma (non-Self) dharma with atma (the Self) dharma and suffers. Let him know the Self and abide in it; there is an end of fear, and there are no doubts. Even if interpreted as varnasrama dharma the significance is only this much. Such dharma bears fruit only when done selflessly. That is, one must realise that he is not the doer, but that he is only a tool of some Higher Power. Let the Higher Power do what is inevitable and let me act only according to its dictates. The actions are not mine. Therefore the result of the actions cannot be mine. If one thinks and acts so, where is the trouble? Be it varnasrama dharma or loukika dharma (worldly activities), it is immaterial. Finally, it amounts to this: sva = atmanah (of the Self) para = anaatmanah (of the non-self) Such doubts are natural. The orthodox interpretation cannot be reconciled with the life of a modern man obliged to work for his livelihood in different capacities. A man from Pondy interposed: Sarva dharmaan parityajya maamekam
saranam vraja (leaving all duties surrender to me only). Sri Bhagavan: (All) Sarva ^[?] is only anaatmanah (of the non-self); the emphasis is on ekam (only). To the man who has strong hold of the eka ^[?] (one) where are the dharmas? It means, "Be sunk in the Self."
D.: The Gita was taught for action.

Maharshi: What does the Gita say? Arjuna refused to fight.
Krishna said, "So long as you refuse to fight, you have the sense of doership. Who are you to refrain or to act? Give up the notion of doership. Until that sense disappears you are bound to act. You are being manipulated by a Higher Power. You are admitting it by your own refusal to submit to it. Instead recognise the Power and submit as a tool. (Or to put it differently), if you refuse you will be forcibly drawn into it. Instead of being an unwilling worker, be a willing one. "Rather, be fixed in the Self and act according to nature without the thought of doership. Then the results of action will not affect you. That is manliness and heroism."
Thus, `inherence in the Self' is the sum and substance of Gita
teaching. Finally, the Master Himself added, "If a man be established in the Self these doubts would not arise. They arise only until he is established there."
D.: Then of what use is such reply to the enquirer?

Maharshi: The words still have force and will surely operate in due course.

Talk 57 Talk 59

Talk 57

2007-05-19T10:35:00.001+05:30

23rd June, 1935
Talk 57.

Sri Bhagavan said that sushumna ^[?] is the name mostly mentioned in scriptures. Other names also occur; e.g., para, atma, amrita. It is also stated that sushumna becomes leena (merged in para ^[?]). So it may be said that para is the terminology of jnana, whereas sushumna is that of Yoga ^[?].
A DOUBT IN `SRI RAMANA GITA' ANSWERED
Chapter XIV, Stanza 10 reads: "With yet further progress, invisibility also may result. Such an one, being pure consciousness only, flourishes as a siddha ^[?]." Chapter XVIII, Last Stanza reads: "The glory of the siddhis is past imagination, they are equal to Siva, yea Siva himself, in being able to grant boons."
The meaning is that, with Self-Realization, real and incessant tapas results. With the maturing of such tapas some jnanis can make their bodies intangible and invisible. They are known as siddhas. Later, "the greatness of the siddhas is incomprehensible. They are equal to Siva and can even grant boons." So said Sri Bhagavan.
There is an Upanishad mantra ^[?], atmajnam hyarchayet bhutikamah (one desirous of liberation or wealth must serve a Self-realised Sage). Here is no mention of siddha for granting boons. The Jnani ^[?] can do so. The mantras again, swe mahimni pratishtitah (abiding in his own grandeur), anantam Brahma (Brahman is infinite), will seem confounding when read with the slokas cited above. Sarvam
Khalvidam Brahma (All this is Brahman); Brahmavid Brahmaiva
Bhavati (the knower of Brahman becomes Brahman Itself), show that a Jnani is sarvajna ^[?] (all-knower). What then is the distinction between the Jnani and the siddha, and the ability of the latter to grant boons, implying the absence of it in the former?
This was the doubt. The master explained: "The Gita questions were asked in a certain spirit. The answers were according to it. People look to the body only and they want siddhis also. With Self-Realisation no powers can extend even into it, and how can they extend beyond? People anxious for siddhis are not content with their idea of jnana and so want siddhis associated with it. They are likely to neglect the supreme happiness of jnana and aspire for siddhis. For this they are going through the by-lanes instead of the royal path and so will likely lose their way. In order to guide them aright and keep them on the royal road alone the siddhis are said to accompany jnana. In fact jnana comprises all, and a Jnani will not waste even a thought on them. Let the people get jnana and then seek siddhis if they so desire. I have said: sarira samsrayah siddhayah (the siddhis relate to the body), because their outlook is concerning the body. A Jnani and siddha are not different. In varan datum (to bestow boons) the boons include atmalabha (the gain of Self) also. The siddhis are not merely of an inferior order but of the highest order.
The sastras are meant to suit varying conditions. Their spirit remains the same. In Halasya Mahima there is a chapter on the eightfold siddhis. There Siva says that His bhakta ^[?] never wastes a thought on them. Again Siva says that He never grants boons. The desires of the devotees are fulfilled according to their prarabdha ^[?] only. When Iswara Himself says so, what of others? In order to display siddhis there must be others to recognise them. That means there is no jnana in the one who displays them. Therefore siddhis are not worthy of any thought. Jnana alone is to be aimed at and gained. Sri Ramana Gita Chapter XVII, Verse 4, Translation in Tamil is inaccurate.
Sri Bhagavan pointed out the inaccuracy and corrected it. Vaidharbha's question was: "In practice, the thoughts are found to manifest and subside alternately. Is this jnana?" Sri Bhagavan explained the doubt as follows:
Some people think that there are different stages in jnana. The Self is nitya aparoksha, i.e., ever-realised, knowingly or unknowingly. Sravana ^[?], they argue, should therefore be aparoksha jnana (directly experienced) and not paroksha jnana (indirect knowledge). But jnana should result in duhkha nivriti (loss of misery) whereas sravana ^[?] alone does not bring it about. Therefore they say, though aparoksha ^[?], it is not unshaken; the rising of vasanas is the cause of its being weak (not unchanging); when the vasanas are removed, jnana becomes unshaken and bears fruit.
Others say sravana is only paroksha jnana. By manana ^[?] (reflection) it becomes aparoksha spasmodically. The obstruction to its continuity is the vasanas: they rise up with reinforced vigour after manana. They must be held in check. Such vigilance consists in remembering = "I am not the body" and adhering to the aparoksha anubhava (direct experience) which has been had in course of manana (reflection). Such practice is called nididhyasana ^[?] and eradicates the vasanas. Then dawns the sahaja ^[?] state. That is jnana, sure.
The aparoksha in manana cannot effect dukha nivritti (loss of misery) and cannot amount to moksha ^[?], i.e., release from bondage because the vasanas periodically overpower the jnana. Hence it is adridha (weak) and becomes firm after the vasanas have been eradicated by nididhyasana (one-pointedness).

SRI RAMANA GITA AGAIN

Mr. T. K. S. Iyer, a devotee, was speaking of the chakras Sri Bhagavan said: Atman (the Self) alone is to be realised. Its realisation holds all else in its compass. Sakti ^[?], Ganapati; siddhis, etc., are included in it. Those who speak of these have not realised the Atman. Atman is in the heart and is the Heart itself. The manifestation is in the brain. The passage from the heart to the brain might be considered to be through sushumna or a nerve with any other name. The Upanishads say pare
leena - meaning that sushumna or such nadis are all comprised in para , i.e., the atma nadi ^[?]. The yogis say that the current rising up to sahasrara ^[?] (brain) ends there. That experience is not complete. For jnana, they must come to the Heart. Hridaya ^[?] (Heart) is the alpha and omega.

Talk 56 Talk 58

Talk 56

2007-05-18T10:35:00.001+05:30

22nd June, 1935
Talk 56.

A youth of twenty asked how to realise the Self. He sat down in silence and waited more than an hour and then was about to leave. While doing so, he asked:
D.: How to realise Self?

Maharshi: Whose Self? Find out.
D.: Who am I??

Maharshi: Find it yourself.
D.: I do not know.

Maharshi: Think. Who is it that says "I do not know"? What is not known?
In that statement, who is the `I'?
D.: Somebody in me.

Maharshi: Who is the somebody? In whom?
D.: Maybe some power.

Maharshi: Find it.
D.: How to realise Brahman?

Maharshi: Without knowing the Self why do you seek to know Brahman?
D.: The sastras say Brahman pervades all and me too.

Maharshi: Find the `I' in me and then there will be time to think of Brahman.
D.: Why was I born?

Maharshi: Who was born? The answer is the same for all of your questions.
D.: Who am I then?

Maharshi: (Smiling) Have you come to examine me and ask me? You must say who you are.
D.: In deep sleep the soul leaves the body and remains elsewhere.
When it re-enters I awake. Is it so?

Maharshi: What is it that leaves the body?
D.: The power, perhaps.

Maharshi: Find out the power.
D.: The body is composed of five elements. What are the elements?

Maharshi: Without knowing the Self how do you aim at knowing the elements?
The young man sat awhile and left with permission. The Master remarked later: "All right. It will work."

Talk 55 Talk 57

Talk 55

2007-05-17T10:35:00.001+05:30

18th June, 1935
Talk 55.

D.: Can advaita ^[?] be realised by japa ^[?] of holy names; say Rama , Krishna, etc.?

Maharshi: Yes.
D.: Is it not a means of an inferior order?

Maharshi: Have you been told to make japa or to discuss its order in the scheme of things? Silence.

Talk 54 Talk 56

Talk 54

2007-05-16T10:35:00.001+05:30

16th June, 1935
Talk 54.

An Andhra Pandit - an elderly gentleman - had some doubts regarding Kavyakantha's exposition of Advaita. He has found it in books that Brahman is free from sajatiya, vijatiya and swagata bheda. Such conditions are satisfied in vivarta vada but not in parinama vada ^[?]. In the latter, swagata bheda is bound to be.

The Master pointed out that Dakshinamurti did not teach anything of the kind. He did not say that Brahman is related to Sakti ^[?] or not related. All that was, was only silence; and the doubts of the sishyas (disciples) were cleared. The significance is that there is nothing to be learnt, discussed and concluded. Everyone knows `I am.' There is the confusion that the `I' is the body. Because the `I' arises from the Absolute and gives rise to buddhi ^[?] (Intellect). In buddhi the `I' looks the size and shape of the body, na medhaya ^[?] means that Brahman cannot be apprehended by buddhi. Brahman aham ^[?] (`I-I') buddhi (intellect). How can such buddhi crossing over aham discover Brahman? It is impossible. Just get over the false conception of the `I' being the body. Discover to whom the thoughts arise. If the present `I'-ness vanishes, the discovery is complete. What remains over is the pure Self.

Compare deep sleep and wakefulness. Diversity and body are found only in the latter. In the former the Self remains without the perception of body or of the world. Happiness reigns there.
The Sruti vakya, `Aham Brahmasmi', relates to the state and not the mode of mind. One cannot become Brahman by continuing to repeat the mantra ^[?]. It means that Brahman is not elsewhere. It is your Self. Find that Self; Brahman is found. Do not attempt to reach Brahman as if it were in some far off place.

The Pandit remarked that thoughts are so persistent that the aham cannot be reached.
The Master said: The Brahma akara vritti helps to turn the mind away from other thoughts. Either some such practice is necessary or association with sadhus should be made. The sadhu has already overcome the mind and remains in Peace. His proximity helps to bring about such condition in others. Otherwise there is no meaning in seeking a sadhu's company.
Deho aham (I am the body) is limitation and is the root of all mean and selfish actions and desires. Brahma aham (I am Brahman) is passing beyond limitation and signifies sympathy, charity, love etc., which are divine and virtuous.
D.: How does a grihasta (householder) fare in the scheme of moksha ^[?]
(liberation)?

Maharshi: Why do you think you are a grihasta? If you go out as a sanyasi , a similar thought (that you are a sanyasi) will haunt you. Whether you continue in the household, or renounce it and go to the forest, your mind haunts you. The ego is the source of thoughts. It creates the body and the world and makes you think you are a grihasta. if you renounce the world, it will only substitute the thought sanyasi
for grihasta and the environments of the forest for those of the household. But the mental obstacles are always there. They even increase in new surroundings. There is no help in the change of environment. The obstacle is the mind. It must be got over whether at home or in the forest. If you can do it in the forest, why not in
the home? Therefore why change the environment? Your efforts can be made even now, in whatever environment you may be. The environment never abandons you, according to your desire. Look at me. I left home. Look at yourselves. You have come here leaving the home environment. What do you find here? Is this different from what you left? Even if one is immersed in nirvikalpa samadhi ^[?] for years together, when he emerges from it he will find himself in the environment which he is bound to have. That is the reason for the Acharya emphasising sahaja ^[?]
samadhi in preference to nirvikalpa samadhi in his excellent work Viveka Chudamani. One should be in spontaneous samadhi - that is, in one's pristine state - in the midst of every environment.
Later on Sri Bhagavan said: "Control of breath may be internal or external." The antah pranayama ^[?] (the internal breath-regulation) is as follows:- Naham chinta (I-am-not-the-body idea) is rechaka ^[?] (exhalation). Koham (who am I?) is puraka ^[?] (inhalation). Soham ^[?] (I am He) is kumbhaka ^[?] (retention of breath). Doing thus, the breath becomes automatically controlled. Bahih pranayama (external control) is for one not endowed with strength to control the mind. There is no way so sure as that; or a sadhu's company. The external practice must be resorted to by a wise man if he does not enjoy a sadhu's company. If in a sadhu's company the sadhu ^[?] provides the needed strength, though unseen by others, Pranayama ^[?] need not be exactly as described in hatha Yoga. If engaged in japa ^[?], dhyana, bhakti, etc., just a little control of breath will suffice to control the mind. The mind is the rider and the breath the horse. Pranayama is a check on the horse. By that check the rider is checked. Pranayama may be done just a little. To watch the breath is one way of doing it. The mind abstracted from other activities is engaged in watching the breath. That controls the breath; and in its turn the mind is controlled.
If unable to do so, rechaka and puraka need not be practised. Breath may be retained a short while in japa, dhyana, etc. Then, too, good results will follow.

Talk 53 Talk 55

Talk 53

2007-05-15T10:35:00.001+05:30

15th June, 1935
Talk 53.

A young man, Mr. Knowles, came for darsan. He had read Paul Brunton's two books. He asked: "The Buddhists say that `I' is unreal, whereas Paul Brunton in the Secret Path tells us to get over the `I- thought' and reach the state of `I'. Which is true?"

Maharshi: There are supposed to be two `I's; the one is lower and unreal, of which all are aware; and the other, the higher and the real, which is to be realised. You are not aware of yourself while asleep, you are aware in wakefulness; waking, you say that you were asleep; you did not know it in the deep sleep state. So then, the idea of diversity has arisen along with the body-consciousness; this body-consciousness arose at some particular moment; it has origin and end. What originates must be something. What is that something? It is the `I'-consciousness. Who am I?? Whence am I? On finding the source, you realise the state of Absolute Consciousness.
D.: Who is this `I'? It seems to be only a continuum of sense-impression. The Buddhist idea seems to be so too.

Maharshi: The world is not external. The impressions cannot have an outer origin. Because the world can be cognised only by consciousness. The world does not say that it exists. It is your impression. Even so this impression is not consistent and not unbroken. In deep sleep the world is not cognised; and so it exists not for a sleeping man. Therefore the world is the sequence of the ego. Find out the ego. The finding of its source is the final goal.
D.: I believe that we should not inflict suffering on other lives. Should we then endure the mosquito bite and submit to it also?

Maharshi: You do not like to suffer yourself. How can you inflict suffering on others? Just keep off mosquitoes since you suffer by their stings.
D.: Is it right that we kill other lives, e.g., mosquitoes, bugs?

Maharshi: Everyone is a suicide. The eternal, blissful, and natural state has been smothered by this life of ignorance. In this way the present life is due to the killing of the eternal, pristine Being. Is it not a case of suicide? So then, everyone is a suicide. Why worry about murders and killing?
In the course of a later talk the visitor said: "The world sends impressions and I awake!"

Maharshi: Can the world exist without someone to perceive it? Which is prior? The Being-consciousness or the rising-consciousness? The Being-consciousness is always there, eternal and pure. The rising- consciousness rises forth and disappears. It is transient.
D.: Does not the world exist for others even when I am asleep?

Maharshi: Such a world mocks at you also for knowing it without knowing yourself. The world is the result of your mind. Know your mind. Then see the world. You will realise that it is not different from the Self.
D.: Is not Maharshi aware of himself and his surroundings, as clearly as I am?

Maharshi: To whom is the doubt? The doubts are not for the realised. They are only for the ignorant.

Talk 52 Talk 54

Talk 52

2007-05-14T10:35:00.001+05:30

9th June, 1935
Talk 52.

A man from Cocanada asked: "My mind remains clear for two or three days and turns dull for the next two or three days; and so it alternates. What is it due to?"

Maharshi: It is quite natural; it is the play of brightness (satva), activity (rajas ^[?])
and darkness (tamas ^[?]) alternating. Do not regret the tamas; but when satva comes into play, hold on to it fast and make the best of it.
D.: What is the Heart?

Maharshi: It is the seat (if such could be said of it) of the Self.
D.: Is it the physical heart?

Maharshi: No. It is the seat wherefrom `I-I' arises.
D.: What becomes of the jiva ^[?] after death?

Maharshi: The question is not appropriate for a jiva now living. A
disembodied jiva may ask me, if convenient. In the meantime let the embodied jiva solve its present problem and find who he is. There will be an end of such doubts.
D.: What is dhyana ^[?]?

Maharshi: The word dhyana usually signifies meditation on some object , whereas nididhyasana ^[?] is used for enquiry into the Self. The triads persist until the Self is realised. Dhyana ^[?] and nididhyasana are the same so far as the aspirant is concerned, because they involve trinity and are synonymous with bhakti ^[?].
D.: How should dhyana be practised?

Maharshi: Dhyana serves to concentrate the mind. The predominant idea keeps off all others. Dhyana varies according to the individual. It may be on an aspect of God, on a mantra ^[?], or on the Self, etc.

Talk 51 Talk 53