mind

[Guest guest]

Sunil,

 

If you start each breath from the center of your heart on the right

side, as as often as possible let a mantra ride on the breath. The

Light of the Self shines into your heart then up and out through the

mind and senses. I feel that sincerity is the most important thing.

Don't forget that the Self shines in your heart and will take over

and help you. You are trying to experience the Self so you could ask

your heart to help you study. When I used to read spiritual

writings, I would bypass the mind asking the heart to sift out the

truth. It is also important to offer whatever you're doing as a

service to the Self, so you can offer your studies to the Lord in

your heart. I am often surprised the people ask each other. Why not

go straight to the Source, the wisdom of the whole universe? And if

you get in the habit of asking and listening, then you have a sure

guide that will not mislead you. Seek a direct relationship with

your Source. You can drop questions into your heart - What is this

for? What should I do about? Ask for peace and a quiet, gentle

heart. God's name is God. Gradually, over time and with

perserverance, you can allow everything to be filtered through you

heart, not your mind.

 

Sherm

[Guest guest]

Hi Sunil,

 

I don't claim to speak with any special authority

about this but here's what I've noticed while

practicing self-enquiry for several years.

 

If I sit quietly and devote my full attention to

the feeling of myself (the I-thought) for a little

while (ten minutes is enough to notice the effect,

but 45 minutes is really good), the mind

sort of settles down and tends to stay put on

the I-thought without a lot of effort. It's

almost like gluing two things together -- at first

you have to hold them together with your hand,

but as the glue begins to set you can let go and

the pieces stay in place.

 

At that point, it's surprisingly easy to keep

part of my attention in place on the I-thought

while doing other things. It feels a little like

my mind is watching the other activity through

the filter of myself. It's not quite like doing

two things at once. It's more like looking at

a building on the ground while you know you're

in an airplane. I guess it's possible because the

feeling we associate with the I-thought is really

the feeling of the Self.

 

Obviously if you're concentrating on something

with ferocious attention, then it's going to be harder

to maintain focus on the I-thought. Studying is probably

going to be a challenge. But try doing it while

walking, brushing your teeth, etc. -- easy automatic

activities. I think you'll see that it's not all that

difficult.

 

By the way, there's a great discussion of the

phenomenon of the attention settling down after

a period of sustained attention in David Godman's

book on Annamalai Swami, who was one of

Sri Ramana Maharshi's closest devotees. I think

this is one of the best books ever written on

Bhagavan. If anybody's interested, I'll post the

page numbers.

 

Regards,

 

Rob

 

 

RamanaMaharshi, b_s_sunil wrote:

> Hello everyone

>

> How can the mind be able to abide in self

> amidst activities?

> For an example " since i am studying , my mind

> should concentrate on studies .

> But how can the mind abide in self during this period of

> work?"

>

> Thanking you

> Sunil Shankar