Ramana's single inquiry

[Guest guest]

>

> "Jeff Belyea" <jeff

> 2005/10/09 Sun AM 10:39:21 EDT

>

> Re: Ramana's single inquiry

>

>

 

Hi Beloved Jeff,

 

Haven't 'seen you' for a while;-)

 

My experience was similar, I lay down and watched all

parts of me disappear except for being conscious

and something that resembled my breath. I realized that

I must be consciousness and I identified myself as

Consciousness. As a child, I was always aware of my

self-consciousness which contributed to an innate shyness,

this was an adult re-experiencing and re-cognizing this in the

experience of being an adult. Just part of the journey,

although a crucial and integral part.

 

Love,

Anna

Ramana laid down to experience

utter stillness - death. Would

that not be "standing in the

quiet"? (OK, it's laying, not

standing, but metaphorically

it is the same.)

Not not two,

Jeff

, "Richard Clarke"

<rclarke@s...> wrote:

>

> This was posted on

> PracticeofSelfInquiry/

> And I thought it would be or interest to this group.

>

> Richard

> ------------------------------

>

> Dear Group,

>

> I have read this account many times. I think it is worth

considering

> it when one thinks about practice.

>

> First, Ramana started with a great 'desire,' a desire 'to find out

> the truth for himself.'

>

> Sankara said that desire, desire for liberation, is the most

> important of the spiritual 'requisites.' Here Ramana's story

> reinforces what Sankara taught.

>

> Next Ramana did a deep discriminative inquiry on his

identification

> with the body. In this inquiry he came to see that, in fact, he

was

> not the body.

>

> Ramana taught again and again that misidentification with the body

> was the chief misidentification, and if this be cleared up, then

> spiritual freedom comes.

>

> The 'conclusion' of this inquiry was Self-Knowledge: "So I am the

> Spirit transcending the body. The body dies but the Spirit that

> transcends it cannot be touched by death. That means I am the

> deathless Spirit"

>

> This Self-Knowledge remained after this, always.

>

> So Ramana's own practice was this discriminative inquiry. It was

> not 'standing in the quiet' or any such as that. His own story, I

> think, provides great guidance to the seeker: find out for

yourself,

> are you the body? If you are not the body, then just who are you?

> Keep this up until Self-Knowledge comes. If there is even the hint

of

> body identification or identification with as some kind of

> individual, then keep inquiring. If, in inquiry, I notice the

sense

> that I am 'this person' or in 'this location' then I understand

this

> is just body identification, and though I have asked "Who am I? Am

I

> this body?" in many forms, for a number of years now, I know that

I

> have to keep asking, investigating, inquiring, discriminating the

> Real from the unreal. How can I be the unreal?

>

> This story gives straight forward guidance. If we listen

carefully,

> contemplate deeply, and meditate to see the Truth within.

>

> Not two,

> Richard

>

> PracticeofSelfInquiry, "Xan" <xanma9>

> wrote:

> >

> > .

> > It was about the middle of the year 1896; Venkataraman was

> seventeen

> > then. One day he was sitting up alone on the first floor of his

> > uncle's house. He was in his usual health. There was nothing

wrong

> > with it. But a sudden and unmistakable fear of death took hold

of

> > him. He felt he was going to die. Why this feeling should have

come

> > to him he did not know.

> >

> > The feeling of impending death, however, did not unnerve him. He

> > calmly thought about what he should do. He said to

himself, "Now,

> > death has come. What does it mean? What is it that is dying?

This

> > body dies." Immediately thereafter he lay down stretching his

limbs

> > out and holding them stiff as though rigor mortis had set in. He

> > held his breath and kept his lips tightly closed, so that to all

> > outward appearance his body resembled a corpse. Now, what would

> > happen?

> >

> > This was what he thought : "Well, this body is now dead. It will

be

> > carried to the burning ground and there burnt and reduced to

ashes.

> > But with the death, of this body am I dead? Is the body I? This

> body

> > is silent and inert. But I feel the full force of my personality

> and

> > even the voice of the 'I' within me, apart from it. So I am the

> > Spirit transcending the body. The body dies but the Spirit that

> > transcends it cannot be touched by death. That means I am the

> > deathless Spirit".

> >

> > As Bhagavan Sri Ramana narrated this experience later on for the

> > benefit of his devotees it looked as though this was a process

of

> > reasoning. But he took care to explain that this was not so. The

> > realization came to him in a flash. He perceived the truth

> > directly. 'I' was something very real, the only real thing. Fear

of

> > death had vanished once and for all.

> >

> > From then on, 'I' continued like the fundamental sruti note that

> > underlies and blends with all the other notes. Thus young

> > Venkataraman found himself on the peak of spirituality without

any

> > arduous or prolonged sadhana. The ego was lost in the flood of

Self-

> > awareness.

> >

> > from www.ramana-maharshi.org

> >

>