Self-enquiry - Theory

[Guest guest]

This is very articulate and

clear statement.

Also, wondering the extent to which it is

David Godman's understanding,

and whether Ramana would completely agree

with the way he stated this ...

More specifically, I understand Ramana to

be pointing even beyond being the I subject,

the pure subjectivity, to "neither subject nor object"

,

"neither creation nor destruction"...

so wonder if it's truly reflecting Ramana

to discuss a "culminating phase"

in which one is being the I, is "experiencing the

subject",

in which one is pure subjectivity. Possibly, this is

Godman's

culminating phase, rather than Ramana's ;-)

Nonetheless, Godman's statement rings very much "on target"

here,

particularly his clarity about ways that practices aimed at a quite

mind, or blissful

experiences, strengthen the subtle sense of subject/object ...

Namaste,

Dan

Sri Ramana Maharshi

maintained that Self-realisation could be

brought about merely by giving up the idea that there is an

individual self, which functions through the body and the

mind.

A few of his advanced devotees were able to do this quickly

and easily, but the others found it virtually impossible

to discard the ingrained habits of a lifetime without

undertaking some form of spiritual practice.

Sri Ramana Maharshi sympathised with their predicament

and whenever he was asked to prescribe a spiritual practice

which would facilitate Self-awareness he would recommend

a technique he called self-enquiry. This practice was the

cornerstone of his practical philosophy.

Before embarking on a description of the technique itself

it will be necessary to explain Sri Ramana Maharshi's views

on the nature of the mind since the aim of self-enquiry is to

discover by direct experience, that the mind is non-existent.

According to Sri Ramana Maharshi, every conscious activity of the

mind or body revolves around the tacit assumption that there is

an `I' who is doing something.

The common factor in `I think', `I remember', `I am acting',

is the `I' who assumes that it is responsible for all these

activities. Sri Ramana Maharshi called this common factor the

`I'-

thought (Aham-Vritti). Literally aham-vritti means `mental

modification of `I'. The Self or real `I' never imagines that

it is doing or thinking anything; the `I' that imagines all

this is a mental fiction and so it is called a mental

modification of the Self. Since this is a rather cumbersome

translation of Aham-Vritti it is usually translated

as `I'-thought.

Sri Ramana Maharshi upheld the view that the notion of

individuality is only the `I'-thought manifesting itself in

different ways. Instead of regarding the different activities

of the mind (such as ego, intellect and memory) as separate

functions he preferred to view them all as different forms of

the `I'-thought. Since he equated individuality with the mind

and the mind with the `I'-thought it follows that

the disappearance of the sense of individuality

(i.e. Self-realisation) implies the disappearance of both

the mind and the `I'-thought.

This is confirmed by his frequent statements to the effect that

after Self-realisation there is no thinker of thoughts,

no performer of actions and no awareness of individual

existence.

Since he upheld the notion that the Self is the only existing

reality he regarded the `I'-thought as a mistaken assumption

which has no real existence of its own.

He explained its appearance by saying that it can only appear

to exist by identifying with an object.

When the thoughts arise the `I'-thought claims ownership of

them-

`I think', `I believe', `I want', `I am acting' -

but there is no separate `I'-thought that exists independently

of the objects that it is identifying with.

It only appears to exist as a real continuous entity because

of

the incessant flow of identification which are continually

taking

place. Almost all of these identifications can be traced back

to an initial assumption that the `I' is limited to the body,

either as an owner-occupant or co-extensive with its physical

form. This `I am the body' idea is the primary source of all

subsequent wrong identifications and its dissolution is the

principal aim of self-enquiry.

Sri Ramana Maharshi maintained that this tendency towards

self-limiting identifications could be checked by trying

to separate the subject `I' from the objects of thought which

it identified with. Since the individual `I'-thought cannot

exist

without an object, if attention is focused on the subjective

feeling of `I' or `I am' with such intensity that the thoughts

`I am this' or `I am that' do not arise, then the individual

`I'

will be unable to connect with objects.

If this awareness of `I' is sustained, the individual `I'

(the `I'-thought) will disappear and in its place there will

be a direct experience of the Self. This constant attention

to the inner awareness of `I' or `I am' was called

self-enquiry

(vichara) by Sri Ramana Maharshi and he constantly recommended

it as the most efficient and direct way of discovering

the unreality of the `I'-thought.

In Sri Ramana's terminology the `I'-thought rises from the

Self

or the Heart and subsides back into the Self when its tendency

to identify itself with thought objects ceases.

Because of this he often tailored his advice to conform to

this

image of a rising and subsiding `I'.

He might say `trace the "I"-thought back to its

source',

or `find out where the "I" rises from', but the

implication was

always the same. Whatever the language used he was advising

his devotees to maintain awareness of the `I'-thought until

it dissolved in the source from which it came.

He sometimes mentioned that thinking or repeating `I' mentally

would also lead one in the right direction but it is important

to note that this is only a preliminary stage of the practice.

The repetition of `I' still involves a subject (the

`I'-thought)

having a perception of an object (the thoughts `I, I') and

while such duality exists the `I'-thought will continue

to thrive. It only finally disappears when the perception

of all objects, both physical and mental ceases.

This is not brought about by being aware of an `I',

but only by BEING the `I'.

This stage of experiencing the subject rather than being

aware of an object is the culminating phase of self-enquiry.

This important distinction is the key element which

distinguishes self-enquiry from nearly all other spiritual

practices and it explains why Sri Ramana consistently

maintained

that most other practices were ineffective.

He often pointed out that traditional meditations and

yoga practices necessitated the existence of a subject

who meditates on an object and he would usually add

that such a relationship sustained the `I'-thought instead of

eliminating it. In his view such practices may effectively

quieten the mind, and they may even produce blissful

experiences, but they will never culminate in Self-realisation

because the `I'-thought is not being isolated and deprived

of its identity.

David Godman

from Be As You

Are

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All paths go somewhere. No path goes nowhere. Paths, places, sights,

perceptions, and indeed all experiences arise from and exist in and

subside back into the Space of Awareness. Like waves rising are not

different than the ocean, all things arising from Awareness are of the

nature of Awareness. Awareness does not come and go but is always

Present. It is Home. Home is where the Heart Is. Jnanis know the Heart to

be the Finality of Eternal Being. A true devotee relishes in the Truth of

Self-Knowledge, spontaneously arising from within into It Self. Welcome

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