Satsang with Nome - True Sillence

[Guest guest]

Dear Group,

>From time to time I get transcripts of satsangs held at Society of

Abidance in Truth. (www.satramana.org). The teacher as SAT is Nome.

(no me).

 

Nome has taught Ramana Maharshi's self-inquiry for over 25 years.

Nome teaches, as did Ramana, a pure advaita vedanta. I have attended

satsangs with Nome for some years.

 

I post these so that others can have access to the teaching.

 

The satsangs have a discourse, then questions and answers. I will

post these separately.

 

I hope reading this, you will reflect, and dive deep within in

meditation.

 

Not two,

Richard

 

------------------

 

Satsang

True Silence

May 8, 2005

 

[Note: The recording of this satsang is rather poor, and so those

portions that are inaudible have been deleted and those portions that

are only partially audible have been summarized using the audible

portion. The reader can, at points, surmise what may have been said

in the audible portions by the context the portion that has been

preserved.]

 

Om Om Om

(Silence)

 

[N. signifies Nome; Q. signifies Questioner; "laughter" means that

everyone was laughing, not just the speaker.]

 

N.: The Self is forever nonobjective. It never becomes a known or

unknown thing. Self-Realization is, therefore, nonobjective Knowledge

of oneself. It is said to be most eloquently described and

instruction about it is most eloquently given in silence.

 

Thus the Maharshi is referred to as a silent sage, for he was silent

not only when quiet and when speaking, but silent forever. Likewise,

the primordial Guru, Dakshinamurti is spoken of as being in a state

of perpetual silence. What else is that but nonobjective Knowledge?

Such is Being, free of the illusion of any attribute or

characteristic, of any false definition.

 

The Maharshi says that silence is that state in which no "I" arises.

It (the "I") means the assumption of existing as an individual being

rather than as pure, absolute Being. Absolute Being is nondual,

eternal, infinite, and formless. Only that which is formless can be

eternal. All forms have birth and death. The formless is alone

perpetually existent. Silence is indicative of the that perpetual

Existence. It is the "I"-less, object-less real nature, the Unborn,

the Uncreated. That which is ever existent is real. That which has a

transitory existence is but superficial appearance and is not real.

In Truth, it never actually comes to be.

 

To know Reality as it is, you must know yourself. To know yourself,

you must inquire. How else are you to know yourself except by deeply

and constantly inquiring within yourself as to, "Who am I?" The

Maharshi has said that the inquiry is necessary because it alone does

not include the duality that one is attempting to transcend. What is

this duality? "I and this." Stretching between the poles of "I"

and "this" is all of maya, all of illusion, which is nothing more

than delusion.

 

To be free of "I" and "this," to be free of duality, know yourself.

Inquire within yourself. To inquire is to make your vision

nonobjective. If you are spiritually searching, who is searching? If

you are practicing, who is the practitioner? If you say that you know

yourself or that you do not know yourself or that you do not know if

you know or don't know yourself, who is the "I"?

 

Whatever is conceived as knowledge depends on the definition of

this "I." However the "I," or individual is defined, so will "this"

appear. If we find out what truly is "I," we know Reality. That which

knows and that which is known are identical. That is, in nondual

Knowledge, which is Knowledge of one's own Self, there is neither

an "I" nor a "this." One's own Self cannot possibly be a body, for

that is the known. One's own Self cannot possibly be a sensory thing

or a mental thing. It cannot be the mind. What is it that truly

deserves to be called yourself? Inquire.

 

If you so inquire, Reality comprehends itself. That Reality, of the

nature of Being-Consciousness-Bliss, should alone be regarded as you.

That which is truly you is illimitable. It is the Absolute. There is

no other kind of you. The imagination of another you, a "second"

according to the Upanishad, of an individual, is the very root of all

other delusion and delusion's consequent bondage and suffering. So,

Knowledge of one's Self is, therefore, spoken of as the root of

Bliss. Really, there is not the relation of a root and something

else. The Knowledge, itself, is the Bliss. The Knowledge, being

nonobjective, is of the nature of pure Consciousness, and not some

sort of perception or conception. A concept or percept, a mental

mode, state, or condition cannot possibly be the eternal. The

Maharshi says that what is not eternal is not worth seeking. So,

search for that in yourself that is nonobjective and, therefore,

eternal, or timeless.

 

To so inquire and know, start with your own existence. It is

Consciousness. Where you start is where you end. Turn your mind

inward and inquire, "Who am I?" Do not expect an answer to come to

you. What comes goes. What appears disappears. That which has birth

is perishable. Make your vision nonobjective. Neither seek to obtain

something nor wait for something to happen. Make your vision

nonobjective and know yourself. Cease to misidentify with whatever is

objective, be it a subtle thought or the gross form of the body, or

any of the attributes of those.

 

There is no beginning or end for your Being. It always is just as it

is.

 

(Silence)

 

This is one's true Being, which has not a trace of individuality,

which has not a trace of objectivity, and which is Existence pure.

This is alone is.

 

Imagine individuality and this which alone is real seems elusive.

>From that position, one is prepared to say that there is some

distinction between God and the self. Turn within, inquire, and know

and yourself, and there are not two---one to elude and one to know or

not know the other. The Self, Reality, is Absolute, is silently self-

evident.

 

------------------