Chapter II

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Chapter II

called Practice

from Spiritual Practice a talk with Ramana Maharishi

 

 

 

Chapter II

Practice (Abhyasa)

 

1. What is the method of practice?

As the Self of a person who tries to attain Self-realization is not

different from him and as

there is nothing other than or superior to him to be attained by him,

Self-realization being

only the realization of one's own nature, the seeker of Liberation

realizes, without doubts

or misconceptions, his real nature by distinguishing the eternal from

the transient, and

never swerves from his natural state. This is known as the practice

of knowledge. This is

the enquiry leading to Self-realization.

2. Can this path of enquiry be followed by all aspirants?

This is suitable only for the ripe souls. The rest should follow

different methods according

to the state of their minds.

3. What are the other methods?

They are (i) stuti, (ii) japa, (iii) dhyana, (iv) yoga,(v) jnana,

etc.

(i) stuti is singing the praises of the Lord with a great feeling of

devotion.

(ii) japa is uttering the names of the gods or sacred mantras like Om

either mentally or

verbally.(While following the methods of stuti and japa the mind will

sometimes be

concentrated (lit. closed) and sometimes diffused (lit. open). The

vagaries of the mind will

not be evident to those who follow these methods).

(iii) dhyana denotes the repetition of the names, etc., mentally

(japa) with feelings of

devotion. In this method the state of the mind will be understood

easily. For the mind does

not become concentrated and diffused simultaneously. When one is in

dhyana it does not

contact the objects of the senses, and when it is in contact with the

objects it is not in

dhyana. Therefore those who are in this state can observe the

vagaries of the mind then

and there and by stopping the mind from thinking other thoughts, fix

it in dhyana.

Perfection in dhyana is the state of abiding in the Self (lit.,

abiding in the form of 'that'

tadakaranilai) .

As meditation functions in an exceedingly subtle manner at the source

of the mind it is not

difficult to perceive its rise and subsidence.

(iv) yoga: The source of the breath is the same as that of the mind;

therefore the

subsidence of either leads effortlessly to that of the other. The

practice of stilling the mind

through breath control (pranayama) is called yoga. Fixing their minds

on psychic centres

such as the sahasrara (lit. the thousand-petalled lotus) yogis remain

any length of time

without awareness of their bodies. As long as this state continues

they appear to be

immersed in some kind of joy. But when the mind which has become

tranquil emerges

(becomes active again) it resumes its worldly thoughts. It is

therefore necessary to train it

with the help of practices like dhyana, whenever it becomes

externalised. It will then

attain a state in which there is neither subsidence nor emergence.

(v) jnana is the annihilation of the mind in which it is made to

assume the form of the Self

through the constant practice of dhyana or enquiry (vichara). The

extinction of the mind is

the state in which there is a cessation of all efforts. Those who are

established in this state

never swerve from their true state. The terms 'silence' (mouna) and

inaction refer to this

state alone.

NOTE: (1) All practices are followed only with the object of

concentrating the mind. As all

the mental activities like remembering, forgetting, desiring, hating,

attracting, discarding,

etc., are modifications of the mind, they cannot be one's true state.

Simple, changeless

being is one's true nature. Therefore to know the truth of one's

being and to be it, is

known as release from bondage and the destruction of the knot

(granthi nasam). Until this

state of tranquillity of mind is firmly attained, the practice of

unswerving abidance in the

Self and keeping the mind unsoiled by various thoughts, is essential

for an aspirant.

(2) Although the practices for achieving strength of mind are

numerous, all of them

achieve the same end. For it can be seen that whoever concentrates

his mind on any

object, will, on the cessation of all mental concepts, ultimately

remain merely as that

object. This is called successful meditation (dhyana siddhi). Those

who follow the path of

enquiry realize that the mind which remains at the end of the enquiry

is Brahman. Those

who practise meditation realize that the mind which remains at the

end of the meditation

is the object of their meditation. As the result is the same in

either case it is the duty of

aspirants to practise continuously either of these methods till the

goal is reached.

4. Is the state of 'being still' a state involving effort or

effortless?

It is not an effortless state of indolence. All mundane activities

which are ordinarily called

effort are performed with the aid of a portion of the mind and with

frequent breaks. But

the act of communion with the Self (atma vyavahara) or remaining

still inwardly is intense

activity which is performed with the entire mind and without break.

Maya (delusion or ignorance) which cannot be destroyed by any other

act is completely

destroyed by this intense activity which is called 'silence' (mouna).

5. What is the nature of maya?

Maya is that which makes us regard as non-existent the Self, the

Reality, which is always

and everywhere present, all-pervasive and self-luminous, and as

existent the individual

soul (jiva), the world (jagat), and God (para) which have been

conclusively proved to be

non-existent at all times and places.

6. As the Self shines fully of its own accord why is it not generally

recognised like the other

objects of the world by all persons?

Wherever particular objects are known it is the Self which has known

itself in the form of

those objects. For what is known as knowledge or awareness is only

the patency of the

Self (atma sakti). The Self is the only sentient object. There is

nothing apart from the Self.

If there are such objects they are all insentient and therefore

cannot either know

themselves or mutually know one another. It is because the Self does

not know its true

nature in this manner that it seems to be immersed and struggling in

the ocean of birth

(and death) in the form of the individual soul.

7. Although the Lord is all-pervasive it appears, from passages

like "adorning him through

His Grace", that He can be known only through His grace. How then can

the individual soul

by its own efforts attain self-realization in he absence of the

Lord's Grace?

As the Lord denotes the Self and as Grace means the Lord's presence

or revelation, there

is no time when the Lord remains unknown. If the light of the sun is

invisible to the owl it

is only the fault of that bird and not of the sun. Similarly can the

unawareness by ignorant

persons of the Self which is always of the nature of awareness be

other than their own

fault? How can it be the fault of the Self? It is because Grace is of

the very nature of the

Lord that He is well-known as 'the blessed Grace'. Therefore the

Lord, whose nature itself

is Grace, does not have to bestow His Grace. Nor is there any

particular time for bestowing

His Grace.

8. What part of the body is the abode of the Self?

The heart on the right side of the chest is generally indicated. This

is because we usually

point to the right side of the chest when we refer to ourselves. Some

say that the

sahasrara (the thousand-petalled lotus) is the abode of the Self. But

if that were true the

head should not fall forward when we go to sleep or faint.

9. What is the nature of the heart?

The sacred texts describing it say:

Between the two nipples, below the chest and above the abdomen, there

are six organs of

different colours*. One of them resembling the bud of a water lily

and situated two digits

to the right is the heart. It is inverted and within it is a tiny

orifice which is the seat of

dense darkness (ignorance) full of desires. All the psychic nerves

(nadis) depend upon it. It

is the abode of the vital forces, the mind and the light (of

consciousness). (See Appendix

to Reality in Forty Verses 18 -19).

But, although it is described thus, the meaning of the word heart

(hrdayam) is the Self

(atman). As it is denoted by the terms existence, consciousness,

bliss, eternal and plenum

(sat, chit, anandam, nityam, purnam) it has no differences such as

exterior and interior or

up and down. That tranquil state in which all thoughts come to an end

is called the state of

the Self. When it is realized as it is, there is no scope for

discussions about its location

inside the body or outside.

* These are not the same as the Chakras.

10. Why do thoughts of many objects arise in the mind even when there

is no contact with

external objects?

All such thoughts are due to latent tendencies (purva samskaras).

They appear only to the

individual consciousness (jiva) which has forgotten its real nature

and become

externalised. Whenever particular things are perceived, the

enquiry "Who is it that sees

them"? should be made; they will then disappear at once.

11. How do the triple factors (i.e., knower, known and knowledge),

which are absent in

deep sleep, samadhi, etc., manifest themselves in the Self (in the

states of waking and

dreaming)?

>From the Self there arise in succession

(i) Chidabhasa (reflected consciousness) which is a kind of

luminosity.

(ii) Jiva (the individual consciousness) or the seer or the first

concept.

(iii) Phenomena, that is the world.

12. Since the Self is free from the notions of knowledge and

ignorance how can it be said

to pervade the entire body in the shape of sentience or to impart

sentience to the senses?

Wise men say that there is a connection between the source of the

various psychic nerves

and the Self, that this is the knot of the heart, that the connection

between the sentient

and the insentient will exist until this is cut asunder with the aid

of true knowledge, that

just as the subtle and invisible force of electricity travels through

wires and does many

wonderful things, so the force of the Self also travels through the

psychic nerves and,

pervading the entire body, imparts sentience to the senses, and that

if this knot is cut the

Self will remain as it always is, without any attributes.

13. How can there be a connection between the Self which is pure

knowledge and the

triple factors which are relative knowledge?

This is, in a way, like the working of a cinema as shown below:-

CINEMA SHOW SELF 1/ The lamp inside (the apparatus) 1/ The Self 2/

The lens in front

of the lamp 2/ The pure (sattvic) mind close to the Self. 3/ The film

which is a long series

of (separate photos). 3/ The stream of latent tendencies consisting

of subtle thoughts. 4/

The lens, the light passing through it and the lamp, which together

form the focused light.

4/ The mind, the illumination of it and the Self, which together form

the seer or the Jiva.

5/ The light passing through the lens and falling on the screen. 5/

The light of the Self

emerging from the mind through the senses, and falling on the world.

6/ The various kinds

of pictures appearing in the light of the screen. 6/ The various

forms and names appearing

as the objects perceived in the light of the world. 7/ The mechanism

which sets the film in

motion. 7/ The divine law manifesting the latent tendencies of the

mind.

 

Just as the pictures appear on the screen as long as the film throws

the shadows through

the lens, so the phenomenal world will continue to appear to the

individual in the waking

and dream states as long as there are latent mental impressions. Just

as the lens

magnifies the tiny specks on the film to a huge size and as a number

of pictures are shown

in a second, so the mind enlarges the sprout-like tendencies into

tree-like thoughts and

shows in a second innumerable worlds. Again, just as there is only

the light of the lamp

visible when there is no film, so the Self alone shines without the

triple factors when the

mental concepts in the form of tendencies are absent in the states of

deep sleep, swoon

and samadhi. Just as the lamp illumines the lens, etc., while

remaining unaffected, the

Self illumines the ego (chidabhasa), etc., while remaining

unaffected.

14. What is dhyana (meditation)?

It is abiding as one's Self without swerving in any way from one's

real nature and without

feeling that one is meditating. As one is not in the least conscious

of the different states

(waking, dreaming, etc.) in this condition, the sleep (noticeable)

here is also regarded as

dhyana.

15. What is the difference between dhyana and samadhi?

Dhyana is achieved through deliberate mental effort; in samadhi there

is no such effort.

16. What are the factors to be kept in view in dhyana ?

It is important for one who is established in his Self (atma nista)

to see that he does not

swerve in the least from this absorption. By swerving from his true

nature he may see

before him bright effulgences, etc., or hear (unusual) sounds or

regard as real the visions

of gods appearing within or outside himself. He should not be

deceived by these and forget

himself.

NOTE: (i) If the moments that are wasted in thinking of the objects

which are not the Self,

are spent on enquiry into the Self, self-realization will be attained

in a very short time.

(ii) Until the mind becomes established in itself some kind of

bhavana (contemplation of a

personified god or goddess with deep emotion and religious feeling)

is essential. Otherwise

the mind will be frequently assailed by wayward thoughts or sleep.

(iii) Without spending all the time in practising bhavanas like 'I am

Siva' or 'I am

Brahman', which are regarded as nirgunopasana (contemplation of the

attributeless

Brahman), the method of enquiry into oneself should be practised as

soon as the mental

strength which is the result of such upasana (contemplation) is

attained.

(iv) The excellence of the practice (sadhana) lies in not giving room

for even a single

mental concept (vritti)

17. What are the rules of conduct which an aspirant (sadhaka) should

follow?

Moderation in food, moderation in sleep and moderation in speech.

18. How long should one practice?

Until the mind attains effortlessly its natural state of freedom from

concepts, that is till the

sense of 'I' and 'mine' exists no longer.

19. What is the meaning of dwelling in solitude (ekanta vasa)?

As the Self is all-pervasive it has no particular place for solitude.

The state of being free

from mental concepts is called 'dwelling in solitude'.

20. What is the sign of wisdom (viveka)?

Its beauty lies in remaining free from delusion after realising the

truth once. There is fear

only for one who sees at least a slight difference in the Supreme

Brahman. So long as

there is the idea that the body is the Self one cannot be a realizer

of truth whoever he

might be.

21. If everything happens according to karma (prarabdha: the result

of one's acts in the

past) how is one to overcome the obstacles to meditation (dhyana)?

Prarabdha concerns only the out-turned, not the in-turned mind. One

who seeks his real

Self will not be afraid of any obstacle.

22. Is asceticism (sanyasa) one of the essential requisites for a

person to become

established in the Self (atma nista)?

The effort that is made to get rid of attachment to one's body is

really towards abiding in

the Self. Maturity of thought and enquiry alone removes attachment to

the body, not the

stations of life (asramas), such as student (brahmachari), etc. For

the attachment is in the

mind while the stations pertain to the body. How can bodily stations

remove the

attachment in the mind? As maturity of thought and enquiry pertain to

the mind these

alone can, by enquiry on the part of the same mind, remove the

attachments which have

crept into it through thoughtlessness. But, as the discipline of

asceticism (sanyasasrama)

is the means for attaining dispassion (vairagya), and as dispassion

is the means for

enquiry, joining an order of ascetics may be regarded, in a way, as a

means of enquiry

through dispassion. Instead of wasting one's life by entering the

order of ascetics before

one is fit for it, it is better to live the householder's life. In

order to fix the mind in the Self

which is its true nature it is necessary to separate it from the

family of fancies (samkalpas)

and doubts (vikalpas), that is to renounce the family (samsara) in

the mind. This is the

real asceticism.

23. It is an established rule that so long as there is the least idea

of I-am-the-doer,

Self-knowledge cannot be attained, but is it possible for an aspirant

who is a householder

to discharge his duties properly without this sense?

As there is no rule that action should depend upon a sense of being

the doer it is

unnecessary to doubt whether any action will take place without a

doer or an act of doing.

Although the officer of a government treasury may appear, in the eyes

of others, to be

doing his duty attentively and responsibly all day long, he will be

discharging his duties

without attachment, thinking 'I have no real connection with all this

money' and without a

sense of involvement in his mind. In the same manner a wise

householder may also

discharge without attachment the various household duties which fall

to his lot according

to his past karma, like a tool in the hands of another. Action and

knowledge are not

obstacles to each other.

24. Of what use to his family is a wise householder who is unmindful

of his bodily comforts

and of what use is his family to him?

Although he is entirely unmindful of his bodily comforts, if, owing

to his past karma, his

family have to subsist by his efforts, he may be regarded as doing

service to others. If it is

asked whether the wise man derives any benefit from the discharge of

domestic duties, it

may be answered that, as he has already attained the state of

complete satisfaction which

is the sum total of all benefits and the highest good of all, he does

not stand to gain

anything more by discharging family duties.

25. How can cessation of activity (nivritti) and peace of mind be

attained in the midst of

household duties which are of the nature of constant activity?

As the activities of the wise man exist only in the eyes of others

and not in his own,

although he may be accomplishing immense tasks, he really does

nothing. Therefore his

activities do not stand in the way of inaction and peace of mind. For

he knows the truth

that all activities take place in his mere presence and that he does

nothing. Hence he will

remain as the silent witness of all the activities taking place.

26. Just as the Sage's past karma is the cause of his present

activities will not the

impressions (vasanas) caused by his present activities adhere to him

in future?

Only one who is free from all the latent tendencies (vasanas) is a

Sage. That being so how

can the tendencies of karma affect him who is entirely unattached to

activity?

27. What is the meaning of brahmacharya?

Only enquiry into Brahman should be called brahmacharya.

28. Will the practice of brahmacharya which is followed in conformity

with the (four) orders

of life (asramas) be a means of knowledge?

As the various means of knowledge, such as control of senses, etc.,

are included in

brahmacharya the virtuous practices duly followed by those who belong

to the order of

students (brahmacharins) are very helpful for their improvement.

29. Can one enter the order of ascetics (sanyasa) directly from the

order of students

(brahmacharya)?

Those who are competent need not formally enter the orders of

brahmacharya, etc., in the

order laid down. One who has realized his Self does not distinguish

between the various

orders of life. Therefore no order of life either helps or hinders

him.

30. Does an aspirant (sadhaka) lose anything by not observing the

rules of caste and

orders of life?

As the attainment (anusthana, lit. practice) of knowledge is the

supreme end of all other

practices, there is no rule that one who remains in any one order of

life and constantly

acquires knowledge is bound to follow the rules laid down for that

order of life. If he

follows the rules of caste and orders of life he does so for the good

of the world. He does

not derive any benefit by observing the rules. Nor does he lose

anything by not observing

them.