Ramana Gita Study Group Ch 7 V.10,11,12,13,14, Self Enquiry

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SELF ENQUIRY-COMPETENCE AND COMPONENTS

 

SRI RAMANA GITA CHAPER 7

 

KRISHNA BHIKSHU TRANS.

 

Answer to 8 Cont'd:

 

8.Krishni asked;

 

Who is said to be fit to go on with this Enquiry?

 

can one know by himself his own fitness ?

 

Bhagavan replied:

 

10.One whose mind feels utter distatste whenever it has to function amongst

sense objects and

whose mind realises that the body is transitory ,he is said to be the fit one

for Self Enquiry .

 

11.By two signs,that is 1]realisation that the body is transitory and perishable

and 2]the

distaste felt towards sense-objects,one's own fitness for Self Enquiry can be

recognised .

 

12 & 13..

 

Karshi asked ,

 

When one is fit for Self Enquiry by his distatste for sense-objects, or by

discrimination, will

baths or Sandhya [adoration of the sun at dawn ,noon and dusk]Japa,oblations

poured into the

fire,chant of vedas,worship of Gods,bhajans,pilgrimages,sacrifice,giving in

charity,and observance

of special spiritual practices,aid his purpose or are they just to while away

time ?

 

Bhagavan replied:

 

14.if the competant one starts on the Self Enquiry,with shrinking

attachments,all these works will

make the mind increasingly pure .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

=====

Life is a pure flame,and we live

by an invisible Sun within us.

 

 

 

 

 

__________

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[Guest guest]

RamanaMaharshi, Alan Jacobs

<alanadamsjacobs> wrote:

SELF ENQUIRY-COMPETENCE AND COMPONENTS

 

SRI RAMANA GITA CHAPER 7

 

KRISHNA BHIKSHU TRANS.

 

Answer to 8 Cont'd:

 

8.Krishni asked;

 

Who is said to be fit to go on with this Enquiry?

 

can one know by himself his own fitness ?

 

Bhagavan replied:

 

10.One whose mind feels utter distatste whenever it has to function

amongst sense objects and

whose mind realises that the body is transitory ,he is said to be

the fit one for Self Enquiry .

 

11.By two signs,that is 1]realisation that the body is transitory

and perishable and 2]the distaste felt towards sense-objects,one's

own fitness for Self Enquiry can be recognised .

 

12 & 13..

 

Karshi asked ,

 

When one is fit for Self Enquiry by his distatste for sense-objects,

or by discrimination, will

baths or Sandhya [adoration of the sun at dawn ,noon and dusk]

Japa,oblations poured into the

fire,chant of vedas,worship of

Gods,bhajans,pilgrimages,sacrifice,giving in charity,and observance

of special spiritual practices,aid his purpose or are they just to

while away time ?

 

Bhagavan replied:

 

14.if the competant one starts on the Self Enquiry,with shrinking

attachments,all these works will

make the mind increasingly pure .

=====

 

 

Life is a pure flame,and we live

by an invisible Sun within us.

 

=========================================

 

Ramana Gita [translation &commentary by AR Natarajan ]

Ch 7 contd.

 

Vs 8

Who is considered fit for self-enquiry? Can one know his own fitness?

 

(answer…v9,10&11)

Vs 9

He whose mind has been purified by spiritual practices or by

accumulated merit of past lives, and who has distaste for the body

and the sense objects is fit for such enquiry.

Vs10

The one who feels utter distaste when his mind has to move among

sense-objects and who is conscious of the transitoriness of the body

is said to be a competent one for self-enquiry.

Vs 11

By the marks of a sense of transitoriness of the body, and by

detachment to sense-objects, ones fitness for self-enquiry can be

known.

 

Commentary

Is self-enquiry possible only for the spiritually mature?. . . The

scriptures prescribe several spiritual practices for the

purification of the mind, including discrimination between `Real' –

`Unreal', permanent-impermanent. (discussed in Ch 1).. . . Ramana's

replies are always positive, the truth being explained in the light

of the natural inclinations of the questioner. Perhaps this is why

Ramana replies that vairagya, non-attachment to sense-objects and

distaste for transitory things, is a mark of those suited for self-

enquiry. It would be useful to remember that Ramana's emphasis is

not on the qualities of the mind, not on its content, but about its

nature and about its source. . . . .It could be said that all those

who are prepared to keep the gunpowder of the spirit dry, who are

earnest to find out the truth, all those brave enough to be prepared

to lose life in order to find it, are fit for self-enquiry.

 

Vs 12 & 13

For the one who is ripe for self-enquiry by his discrimination and

non-attachment, are

Baths, prayers at stated times, meditation, maintaining the sacred

fire, worship of God, devotional singing, pilgrimage, sacrifice,

charity, austerities, useful? Or are they a mere waste of time?

 

Vs14

For competent beginners with waning attachments all these actions

make the mind increasingly pure.

 

Commentary

Essentially the question is whether the supplementing of self-

enquiry by other spiritual practices, . . .

would be necessary or not. Ramana's reply in v14, covers the early

stages of the practice of self-enquiry, when enough faith in its

exclusive practice might not have developed and skill in practice

not yet achieved. Besides, one may be reluctant to give up fully or

partly the practices one is habituated to. At this stage, the other

practices would help in purifying and strengthening the mind for

pursuing self-enquiry more effectively.

 

= = = = = = = =

anu

 

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