The Term Hridaya- from Moments Remembered

[Guest guest]

Thank you Vicki for your sharing of Sri Ramana's

teachings.

 

Much appreciated. By the way, Jay Narayan, the great

grandson of T.K.S. (in the story below) joined the

list some time back. I may see him at the Academy

meetings next year in Seattle if I go.

 

All good wishes for the holidays.

 

Did I tell everyone about the two nuns who were my

favorite teachers in grade school?

 

 

Love to all

Harsha

 

--- "viorica weissman <viorica"

<viorica wrote:

> The Term Hridaya

>

> Sri T. K. Sundaresa Iyer was one among the few who

> had the privilege

> of not being addressed by Bhagavan in honorific

> terms: He fondly

> addressed him as 'Sundaresa' or 'Sundaram'. However,

> he was known

> popularly only as TKS in the Ashram. His erudition

> in Vedantic

> literature was deep; he was proficient in Sanskrit,

> Tamil and

> English. So, he aptly fitted in to act as an

> interpreter to Sri

> Bhagavan, though most of his time he spent in the

> Ashram office

> attending to correspondence. Of course, in this also

> he was blessed

> because he had to show letters to Bhagavan and get

> hints from Him

> while answering certain letters...

>

> "A staunch devotee living in England, Harry Dickman,

> was soaked in

> Sri Bhagavan's teachings, though he could not have

> His darshan. He

> wrote asking for an explanation as to the term

> 'Hridayam' and its

> significance. I got from Bhagavan hints on how the

> reply should be

> formed. The following is the gist of the reply,

> which was approved by

> Bhagavan and sent to Harry Dickman:" -TKS

>

> Just as there is a cosmic centre from which the

> whole universe arises

> and has its being and functions with the power or

> the directing

> energy emanating there from, so also is there a

> centre within the

> frame of the physical body wherein we have our

> being. This centre in

> the human body is in no way different from the

> cosmic centre. It is

> this centre in us that is called the Hridaya, the

> seat of Pure

> Consciousness, realized as Existence, Knowledge and

> Bliss. This is

> really what we call the seat of God in us.

>

> It is this Hridaya that is said to be different from

> the physical

> heart, regulating the blood circulation. The Hridaya

> has its being on

> the right side and is not commonly known or felt.

> The primary thought

> in us arising as 'I,' when traced to its source,

> ends somewhere in us

> and this place, where all thoughts die, where the

> ego has vanished,

> is the Hridaya. From this centre is felt and enjoyed

> the Pure

> Consciousness.

>

> Hridaya described as 'the literal, actual, physical

> seat of the

> intuition of the Self' has the meaning explained

> above. Perhaps the

> words 'physical seat' may create some confusion.

> What it really means

> is that there is a centre of Pure Consciousness in

> the physical body.

> It is related to the physical, but is not itself

> physical.

>

> The word Hridaya is a composite of hrid and ayam -

> "centre, this". It

> is the centre on the right which we reach as a

> result of meditation.

> From the Hridaya, consciousness arises to the

> sahasrara through the

> sushumna and from there spreads out to all the parts

> of the body

> through the several 'nadis'. Then alone we become

> conscious of the

> objects around us. Man, due to the illusion that

> these have real

> existence, experiences suffering, as he strays far

> away from his

> Self. The seat from where all these arise and

> manifest is the Hridaya.

>

> Whether in sleep, joy, sorrow, fear or satisfaction,

> we return to

> this heart and that is why we feel lost to all

> consciousness of

> things around. If by meditation or Vichara we attain

> to our centre,

> the Hridaya, and thus are our real Self, we enjoy

> unalloyed bliss.

>

> In the course of tracing ourselves back to our

> source, when all

> thoughts have vanished, there arises a throb from

> the Hridaya on the

> right, manifesting as 'Aham' 'Aham'. This is the

> sign that Pure

> Consciousness is beginning to reveal itself. But

> that is not the end

> in itself. Watch wherefrom this sphurana (throbbing)

> arises and wait

> attentively and continually for the revelation of

> the Self. Then

> comes the awareness, oneness of existence.

>

> When we steady our breath we feel the steadying of

> our thoughts. Then

> the thoughts turn inward and melt away at a point.

> Watching this

> point, where the thoughts vanish, will also help us

> to merge

> ourselves in the Hridaya.

>

> - From Moments Remembered

>

>

>

>

>

>

 

 

=====

/join

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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