More on Ramana and Self-Enquiry.

[Guest guest]

From Surging Joy

By Dr Sarada Ntarajan

 

Sri Ramana has not taught a " new Truth " (for Truth is neither new

nor old, it always is), but has forged a new way of approaching the

Truth…The newness of the Ramana Way lies in its relevance to our

current manner of living and approach to things, its aptness to the

needs and responsiveness of our time. Bhagavan Ramana's teachings

are eminently relevant to the crucial business of living in the

current context…Sri Ramana never tires of pointing out that

happiness is our own nature, which why we seek it so persistently,

at all times, consciously or unconsciously…Having forgotten our true

nature, we identify ourselves with a limited entity, a name and form

which alone we take to be our self. The magic revival of Self-

awareness will occur when we are rid of the false notion, the

illusion that we are limited.

 

Sri Ramana`s unique path of self-enquiry leads us directly to Self-

awareness. We are directed to examine the nature of the mind and

upon doing so we find that it has two aspects. One consists of the

crowd of thoughts that are ever changing, ever moving. There is the

other, the continuous element in the mind which is the " I " -thought.

Every other thought depends for its existence on the attention of

the " I " , every thought exists only in association with the " I " .

The " I " -thought also appears to be equally dependent on other

thoughts, for throughout our waking and dream experiences we are

plagued by the continuous rush of thoughts…The very fact that

thoughts are changing but the " I " -thought is continuous implies that

it exists when one thought goes and another comes, that is, it

exists even in the gap between thoughts. Hence, it is really

independent of thoughts and only due to force of habit it clings to

them. Sri Ramana says that if we cut at the root of this habit

through self-enquiry then the " I " -thought will be isolated. If we

question the very validity of the " I " -thought with the query " Who am

I? " , it will have no locus standi (a recognized or identifiable

(esp. legal) status [Latin, = place of standing]) to associate

itself with other thoughts. What happens then? As the " I " -thought

cannot take pointed scrutiny it will shrink back into its source,

the Self. One may wonder how we can say that the " I' rises from the

Self, that the Self is its source. This is evident to us through the

daily experience of deep sleep when the " I " -thought is absent, when

there is no consciousness of identity, but existence is untrammeled.

That is why we are able to recall the peace of sleep on waking. It

is also on waking that we become conscious once more of the name and

form. The identity, the " I " -thought rises again. Thus we infer that

the " I " -thought merges into the Self in deep sleep and rises on

waking. To experience this merger consciously is the purpose of self-

enquiry.

 

What happens when, through enquiry, the " I " is merged in the source,

the Self? Does it imply a cessation of thinking, will it result in a

void? Far from it. Sri Ramana describes it as an inundation of

bliss. One is `swallowed alive' as it were, he says, but then one

becomes or is the very bliss that swallows one. It is like the river

merging in the sea and dancing as the sea…The other factor which

Ramana highlights is the immediacy of the experience. Since

happiness is natural, since it is the kingdom of heaven that lies

within, it must be here and now. It is not something to be created,

or reached after death or even attained in the normal sense of the

word. It is ever present. All effort is merely to rid ourselves of

the notion that we are apart from this bliss, that we are limited

and mortal.

 

The significance of self-enquiry lies in turning attention Self-

ward, in breaking the habitual dependence on thought and identity.

However, along with the enquiry, while seeking one must remember not

to distance Self-knowledge and put is away as a goal to be reached

in some distant future. One must seek always with the faith that it

is ever available. (pages i to iii).