More Comments on the Heart/ and also Ramana Maharshi/Apr...

[Guest guest]

Thanks Harsha,

this is very clearly stated. It is not that the heart is only in side

of us, or outside of us, but it is within the Heart of All. Every

path leads to it. This very body of self is also a gateway.

love

eric.

People often raise the point about the Heart--- that if the Heart is the

Self, how can it be contained in the body at a particular location! Of

course, body and the whole universe are an appearance in the Heart It Self

and the Heart is their Source. This Is Known When One Is the Heart and

Recognizes It as One' Own Being!

Sri Ramana did not ever say that it was *"necessary"* to meditate on the

"Heart-center" for Self-Realization. The key word here is "necessary"! It is

not "necessary" to do Japa either! But Bhagavan told Kunju Swami to do Japa

as part of his spiritual routine after Kunju Swami had served him for 12

years and knew Bhagavan's teachings inside and out. Kunju Swami had even by

then glimpsed the Self in Kevala Nirvikalpa Samadhi! It is important to know

both the theory and the practical applications as indicated by Bhagavan's

words, behavior, and interaction with many devotees over a period of over 50

years. Without understanding the totality of Bhagavan's Pure Grace, we can

get caught up and fixated upon certain words. It would be comical for us to

make Bhagavan engage in professional wrestling with himself using his own

words! :-).

So yes, it is not "necessary" to do this and that and follow various

spiritual practices. Bhagavan often said that "It is only "necessary" to

enquire "Who am I"? And when the enquiry is ripe, the mind will

automatically sink into the Heart! The Heart pulls the mind in like a huge

magnet as if a black hole is sucking in the entire universe.

It is clear that whatever the mode of someone's spiritual practice (Japa,

Prayer, Nada, Kundalini, Devotion to a deity, various meditations, etc.),

Bhagavan encouraged it in the context of Self Enquiry and was keen to make

the devotees aware of the Heart. To think that Self-Enquiry is somehow

inconsistent with another spiritual practice is a mistake. To suggest that

Arthur Osborne did not understand Self-Enquiry because he was aware of the

Heart-center as he did self-enquiry is certainly quite a leap! Sri Ramana

spoke of the Heart in both physical terms and at the same time how it

transcends the physical upon Realization! (see my quote at the end).

There really is no debate about the purest teaching of Self-Enquiry as

Bhagavan gave it. Bhagavan encouraged people whatever their spiritual

inclinations were and said that in the end, they will come to the Heart.

Once we have direct knowledge of the Heart, we see that the Heart can

certainly be experienced in relationship to the body! Why not? How can we

limit the Heart? For the one who Knows the Heart, there is absolutely no

conflict between knowing the Heart at various levels, and simultaneously

transcending those levels completely.

Because it is the Same Heart at every level! That which is the True Heart

center of the body is the Heart Center of Cosmos. It Is Pure Being. Here is

the quote where Sri Ramana again speaks of Heart in physical terms and

points out how Heart transcends the physical when the reference to the body

evaporates.

408. With reference to the location of the Heart center on the right hand

side of the human body, Sri Bhagavan said:--

I had been saying all along that the Heart center was on the right,

notwithstanding the refutation by some learned men that physiology taught

them otherwise. I speak from experience. I knew it even in my home during my

trances. Again during the incident related in the book Self-Realization I

had a very clear vision and experience. All of a sudden a light came from

one side erasing the world vision in its course until it spread all around

when the vision of the world was completely cut out. I felt that the

muscular organ on the left had stopped work; I could understand that the

body was like a corpse, that the circulation of the blood had stopped and

the body became blue and motionless. Vasudev Sastri embraced the body, wept

over my death, but I could not speak. All the time I was feeling that the

Heart center on the right was working as well as ever. This state continued

for 15-20 minutes. Then suddenly something shot out from the right to the

left resembling a rocket bursting in air. The blood circulation was resumed

and normal condition restored. I then asked Vasudev Sastri to move along

with me and we reached our residence.

The Upanishads say that 101 nadis terminate in the Heart and 72,000

originate from them and traverse the body. The Heart is thus the center of

the body. It can be a center because we have been accustomed to think that

we remain in the body. In fact the body and all else are in that center

only.

>From "Talks with Ramana Maharshi" Ninth Edition (1994), page 383.

[Guest guest]

Yes, Eric. Same Heart, Same Self. The Same taste of Sameness everywhere we look.

Thank you for your many beautiful contributions and we are all enjoying them.

Love to all

Harsha

ErcAshfrd (AT) aol (DOT) com

[ErcAshfrd (AT) aol (DOT) com]Monday, October 08, 2001 3:21 PMTo:

Subject: Re: More

Comments on the Heart/ and also Ramana Maharshi/Apr...Thanks Harsha,

this is very clearly stated. It is not that the heart is only in side

of us, or outside of us, but it is within the Heart of All. Every path

leads to it. This very body of self is also a gateway. love eric.

People often raise the point about the Heart--- that if the Heart is

the Self, how can it be contained in the body at a particular

location! Of course, body and the whole universe are an appearance in

the Heart It Self and the Heart is their Source. This Is Known When

One Is the Heart and Recognizes It as One' Own Being! Sri Ramana did

not ever say that it was *"necessary"* to meditate on the

"Heart-center" for Self-Realization. The key word here is

"necessary"! It is not "necessary" to do Japa either! But Bhagavan

told Kunju Swami to do Japa as part of his spiritual routine after

Kunju Swami had served him for 12 years and knew Bhagavan's teachings

inside and out. Kunju Swami had even by then glimpsed the Self in

Kevala Nirvikalpa Samadhi! It is important to know both the theory

and the practical applications as indicated by Bhagavan's words,

behavior, and interaction with many devotees over a period of over 50

years. Without understanding the totality of Bhagavan's Pure Grace, we

can get caught up and fixated upon certain words. It would be comical

for us to make Bhagavan engage in professional wrestling with himself

using his own words! :-). So yes, it is not "necessary" to do this and

that and follow various spiritual practices. Bhagavan often said that

"It is only "necessary" to enquire "Who am I"? And when the enquiry

is ripe, the mind will automatically sink into the Heart! The Heart

pulls the mind in like a huge magnet as if a black hole is sucking in

the entire universe. It is clear that whatever the mode of someone's

spiritual practice (Japa, Prayer, Nada, Kundalini, Devotion to a

deity, various meditations, etc.), Bhagavan encouraged it in the

context of Self Enquiry and was keen to make the devotees aware of

the Heart. To think that Self-Enquiry is somehow inconsistent with

another spiritual practice is a mistake. To suggest that Arthur

Osborne did not understand Self-Enquiry because he was aware of the

Heart-center as he did self-enquiry is certainly quite a leap! Sri

Ramana spoke of the Heart in both physical terms and at the same time

how it transcends the physical upon Realization! (see my quote at the

end). There really is no debate about the purest teaching of

Self-Enquiry as Bhagavan gave it. Bhagavan encouraged people whatever

their spiritual inclinations were and said that in the end, they will

come to the Heart. Once we have direct knowledge of the Heart, we see

that the Heart can certainly be experienced in relationship to the

body! Why not? How can we limit the Heart? For the one who Knows the

Heart, there is absolutely no conflict between knowing the Heart at

various levels, and simultaneously transcending those levels

completely. Because it is the Same Heart at every level! That which

is the True Heart center of the body is the Heart Center of Cosmos.

It Is Pure Being. Here is the quote where Sri Ramana again speaks of

Heart in physical terms and points out how Heart transcends the

physical when the reference to the body evaporates. 408. With

reference to the location of the Heart center on the right hand side

of the human body, Sri Bhagavan said:-- I had been saying all

along that the Heart center was on the right, notwithstanding the

refutation by some learned men that physiology taught them otherwise.

I speak from experience. I knew it even in my home during my trances.

Again during the incident related in the book Self-Realization I had

a very clear vision and experience. All of a sudden a light came from

one side erasing the world vision in its course until it spread all

around when the vision of the world was completely cut out. I felt

that the muscular organ on the left had stopped work; I could

understand that the body was like a corpse, that the circulation of

the blood had stopped and the body became blue and motionless.

Vasudev Sastri embraced the body, wept over my death, but I could not

speak. All the time I was feeling that the Heart center on the right

was working as well as ever. This state continued for 15-20 minutes.

Then suddenly something shot out from the right to the left

resembling a rocket bursting in air. The blood circulation was

resumed and normal condition restored. I then asked Vasudev Sastri to

move along with me and we reached our residence. The Upanishads say

that 101 nadis terminate in the Heart and 72,000 originate from them

and traverse the body. The Heart is thus the center of the body. It

can be a center because we have been accustomed to think that we

remain in the body. In fact the body and all else are in that center

only. From "Talks with Ramana Maharshi" Ninth Edition (1994), page

383.