Fwd: Selections from TALKS WITH SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI-99

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ThePowerOfSilence , " saikali6362 "

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Selections from TALKS WITH SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI-99

 

TALK 512:

 

Sri Bhagavan said: All mistake the mind-consciousness for Self-

Consciousness. There is no mind in deep sleep; but no one denies his

being in sleep. Even a child says on waking, " I slept well, " and

does not deny its existence. The `I' rises up, the mind turns

outward through the five senses and perceives objects, this they

call direct perception. Asked if `I' is not directly perceived, they

get confused, because `I' does not announce itself as an object in

front and only the perception with the senses can be recognised by

them as knowledge: this habit is so strong with them. A stanza in

Thevaram says: " O sages, eager to get over all misery, worry not

about inferences and examples! Our Light is ever shining forth from

within! With mind clear, live in God! " This is direct perception.

Will the common people admit it? They want God to appear in front of

them as a bright Being mounted on a bull. Such a vision once

originated must also end. It is therefore transient. Thevaram

speaks of the Eternal and Ever-experienced Being. This Thevaram

takes one directly to the Reality.

 

TALK 513:

 

Major Chadwick again gave his versified translation of the mantra

for Sri Bhagavan to read. Sri Bhagavan softly spoke of the

interpretation of the Bhashyakara and further explained the same. To

consider the Brahmaloka as a region is also admissible. That is what

the pouraniks say and many other schools also imply it by expounding

kramamukti (liberation by degrees). But the Upanishads speak of

sadyomukti (immediate liberation) as in Na tasya prana utkramanti;

ihaiva praleeyante - the pranas do not rise up; they lose themselves

here. So Brahmaloka will be Realisation of Brahman

(Brahmasakshatkara). It is a state and not a region. In the latter

case, paramritat must be properly understood. It is para inasmuch as

avyakrita is the causal Energy transcending the universe, amrita

because it persists until the Self is realised. So that paramritat

will mean avyakrita. The kramamukti (liberation by degrees) school

say that the upasaka goes to the region of his Ishta Devata which is

Brahmaloka to him. The souls passing to all other lokas return to be

reborn. But those who have gained the Brahmaloka do not. Moreover

those desirous of a particular loka can by proper methods gain the

same. Whereas Brahmaloka cannot be gained so long as there is any

desire left in the person. Desirelessness alone will confer the loka

on him. His desirelessness signifies the absence of the incentive

for rebirth.

The age of Brahma is practically immeasurable. The presiding deity

of the loka is said to have a definite period of life. When he

passes away his loka also is dissolved. The inmates are emancipated

at the same time, irrespective of the different nature of individual

consciousness in them prior to Self-realisation.

The kramamukti school objects to the idea of sadyomukti (immediate

liberation) because the Jnani is supposed to lose body-consciousness

at the same time that ignorance is dispelled but he continues to

live in the body. They ask, " How does the body function without the

mind? "

The answer is somewhat elaborate:

Knowledge (jnana) is not incompatible with ignorance (ajnana)

because the Self in purity is found to remain along with ignorance-

seed (ajnana beeja) in sleep. But the incompatibility arises only in

the waking and dream states. Ajnana has two aspects: avarana

(veiling) and vikshepa (multiplicity). Of these, avarana (veiling)

denotes the veil hiding the Truth. That prevails in sleep.

Multiplicity (vikshepa) is activity in different times. This gives

rise to diversity and prevails in waking and dream states (jagrat

and svapna). If the veil, i.e., avarana is lifted, the Truth is

perceived. It is lifted for a Jnani and so his karana sarira (causal

body) ceases to exist. Vikshepa alone continues for him. Even so, it

is not the same for a Jnani as it is for an ajnani. The ajnani has

all kinds of vasanas, i.e., kartrtva (doership) and bhoktrtva

(enjoyership), whereas the Jnani has ceased to be doer (karta). Thus

only one kind of vasana obtains for him. That too is very weak and

does not overpower him, because he is always aware of the Sat-Chit-

Ananda nature of the Self. The tenuous bhoktrtva vasana is the only

remnant of the mind left in the Jnani and he therefore appears to be

living in the body. This explanation when applied to the mantra

amounts to this: A Jnani has his karana sarira destroyed; the sthula

sarira (gross body) has no effect on him and is for all practical

purposes destroyed too. The sukshma sarira (subtle body) alone

remains. It is otherwise called ativahika sarira. It is this which

is held by all persons after the physical body is given up. And with

this they traverse to other lokas until another suitable physical

body is taken. The Jnani is supposed to move in Brahmaloka with this

sukshma sarira. Then that is also dissolved and he passes to final

Liberation.

The whole explanation is meant only for the onlooker. The Jnani

himself will never raise such questions. He knows by his experience

that he is not bound by any kind of limitations.

D.: What is the `final emancipation' according to the foregoing

explanation?

M.: The ativahika or the sukshma sarira corresponds to the pure

light which one experiences just after sleep and before the rise of

the ego. It is Cosmic Consciousness. That is only the Light

reflected from the Heart. When the reflection ceases and abides as

the Original Light in the Heart it is final emancipation.

D.: But Yoga Vasishtha says that the chitta (mind) of a jivanmukta

is achala (unchanging).

M.: So it is. Achala chitta (unchanging mind) is the same as suddha

manas (pure mind). The jnani's manas is said to be suddha manas.

The Yoga Vasishtha also says that Brahman is no other than the

jnani's mind. So Brahman is suddha manas only.

D.: Will the description of Brahman as Sat-Chit-Ananda suit this

suddha manas? For this too will be destroyed in the final

emancipation.

M.: If suddha manas is admitted, the Bliss (Ananda) experienced by

the Jnani must also be admitted to be reflected. This reflectionmust

finally merge into the Original. Therefore the jivanmuktistate is

compared to the reflection of a spotless mirror in another similar

mirror. What will be found in such a reflection? Pure Akasa (Ether).

Similarly, the jnani's reflected Bliss (Ananda) represents only the

true Bliss.

 

These are all only words. It is enough that a person becomes

antarmukhi (inward-bent). The sastras are not needed for an inward

turned mind. They are meant for the rest.

 

TALK 514:

 

Mr. MacIver, a resident devotee, asked Sri Bhagavan if he might go

to Switzerland where a Guru was inviting him.

Sri Bhagavan said: Some Force brought him here and the same is

taking him to Europe. Let him always remember that the world is

only a projection of the mind, and the mind is in the Self. Wherever

the body may move the mind must be kept under control. The body

moves, but not the Self. The world is within the Self, that is all.

 

TALK 515:

 

D.: In the explanation given yesterday, it is said that the removal

of avarana results in the annihilation of the karana sarira. That is

clear. But how is the gross body considered to fall off too?

M.: The vasanas are of two kinds: bandha hetu (causing bondage) and

bhoga hetu (only giving enjoyment). The Jnani has transcended the

ego and therefore all the causes of bondage are inoperative. Bandha

hetu is thus at an end and prarabdha (past karma) remains as bhoga

vasana (to give enjoyment) only. Therefore it was said that the

sukshma sarira alone survives jnana. Kaivalya says that sanchita

Karma (stored Karma) is at an end simultaneously with the rise of

jnana; that agami (Karma now collecting) is no longer operative

owing to the absence of the sense of bondage, and that prarabdha

will be exhausted by enjoyment (bhoga) only. Thus the last one will

end in course of time and then the gross body also falls away with

it. Sarira traya (the three bodies) and Karma traya (the three

Karmas) are mere phrases meant for the delectation of debaters. A

Jnani is not affected by any of them.

An aspirant is instructed to find who he is. If he does so, he will

take no interest in discussing such matters as the above. Find the

Self and rest in Peace.

 

TALK 516:

 

A question arose if the world is real or unreal, since it is claimed

to be both by the advaitins themselves. Sri Bhagavan said that it is

unreal if viewed as apart from the Self and real if viewed as the

Self.

 

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