Fwd: Selections from TALKS WITH SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI-105

[Guest guest]

ThePowerOfSilence , " saikali6362 "

<saikali6362 wrote:

 

Selections from TALKS WITH SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI-105

 

TALK 582:

 

Sri Bhagavan: If one goes on wanting, one's wants cannot be

fulfilled. Whereas if one remains desireless anything will be

forthcoming. We are not in the wife, children, profession, etc.; but

they are in us; they appear and disappear according to one's

prarabdha. The mind remaining still is samadhi, no matter whether

the world is perceived or not.

Environment, time and objects are all in me. How can they be

independent of me? They may change, but I remain unchanging, always

the same. The objects can be differentiated by means of their names

and forms, whereas each one's name is only one and that is `I'. Ask

anyone, he says `I' and speaks of himself as `I', even if He is

Isvara. His name too is `I' only. So also of a locality. As long as

I am identified with the body so long a locality is distinguishable;

otherwise not. Am I the body? Does the body announce itself as `I'?

Clearly all these are in me. All these wiped out entirely, the

residual Peace is `I'. This is samadhi, this is `I'.

 

TALK 587:

 

Spanish lady asked: You say the Heart is on the right. Can you

explain how it is so? Sri Bhagavan handed over the extract from the

Psychological Review of Philadelphia for her to read. He also added.

The Heart is the place wherefrom the `I-thought' arises.

D.: So you mean the spiritual Heart as distinguished from the

physical heart?

M.: Yes. It is explained in Ch. V of Sri Ramana Gita.

D.: Is there any stage when one might feel the Heart?

M.: It is within the experience of everyone. Everyone touches the

right side of his chest when he says `I'.

 

TALK 589:

 

Somasundara Swami: There is akasa in a mirror and it reflects

images. How are these contained in the mirror?

M.: Objects remain in space. Objects and space are together

reflected in the mirror. Just as the things are found in space, so

they are in the reflection also. The mirror is itself thin. How can

these objects be contained in its compass?

D.: How does the akasa in a pot illustrate this point?

M.: There is no reflection in the akasa of the pot. The reflection

is only in the water in it. Keeping several pots filled with water

in a tank, the akasa is reflected equally in the water in each of

the pots and in the water of the tank. Similarly the whole universe

is reflected in each individual.

D.: The mouths of the pots must be above the surface of the water in

the tank.

M.: Yes, it must be so. Otherwise can the pots be recognised if sunk

in the tank?

D.: How does the reflection take place there?

M.: Pure ether cannot take reflections; only the ether of water can

do so. Glass cannot reflect objects; only a plate of glass with an

opaque lining on its back can reflect the objects in front of it.

Similarly Pure Knowledge does not contain objects in it nor reflect

objects. Only with the limiting adjunct, the mind, it reflects the

world. Neither in samadhi nor in deep sleep does the world remain.

There cannot be illusion either in bright light or in total

darkness. Only in dim light a rope seems a snake. Similarly Pure

Consciousness remains light only; it is pure knowledge. The mind

rising from it is deluded that the objects remain apart.

D.: So then the mind is the mirror.

M.: Mind - mind what is it? It is a mixture of Chit (intelligence)

and sankalpas (thoughts). Therefore it forms all these - the mirror,

light, darkness and the reflections.

D.: But I do not see it.

 

M.: Chidakasa (chit-ether) is Pure Knowledge only, It is the source

of mind. Just at the moment of rising up, the mind is only light;

only afterwards the thought " I am this " rises up; this `I-thought'

forms the jiva and the world.

 

The first light is the pure mind, the mind ether or Isvara. Its

modes manifest as objects. Because it contains all these objects

within itself it is called the mind-ether. Why ether? Like ether

containing objects it contains the thoughts, therefore it is the

mind-ether. Again, just as the physical ether though accommodating

all the gross objects (the whole universe) is itself the content of

the mind-ether, so also the latter is itself the content of Chit-

ether. The last one is Chit Itself. There are no things contained in

it. It remains as Pure Knowledge only.

 

D.: Why call it ether? Physical ether is not sentient.

 

M.: Ether denotes not only the insentient physical ether but also

Pure Knowledge. Knowledge does not consist in knowing objects: this

is relative knowledge. But Knowledge in its purity remains all

alone, One, unique, transcendent Light!

 

D.: Well - should we be imagining it in our meditation?

M.: Why imagine? We can think of another only if we are independent

of it, whereas here we cannot remain independent of this Pure

Knowledge. Rather, only IT is! How can It be imagined to be so and

so or such and such?

D.: How are we to proceed?

 

M.: Only get rid of the non-self.

 

D.: It looks all right now; but later it is all forgotten.

 

M.: Your forgetfulness implies knowledge, for you know you forgot;

otherwise how can you speak of forgetting it? So forgetfulness also

is Chit-akasa (Chit-ether) only.

 

D.: How then is it not clear to me?

M.: Chit is knowledge pure and simple. The mind proceeds from it;

the mind is made up of thoughts. Darkness or ignorance interposing.

Pure Knowledge seems different from what It really is; the same is

seen as `I' and the `world' which are full of desire, attachment,

hatred, etc. Therefore desire, etc., are said to veil the Reality.

D.: How to be rid of thoughts? Is it as said in the Atma-Vidya - the

eye of the mental eye, etc.?

M.: There the mind stands for ether, Being (sat); and the eye for

knowledge (chit); both sat and chit together form the universe.

D.: How to realise the same?

M.: As pointed out in the Atma Vidya " being the eye of the mental

eye, the ether of the mental ether..... " , meaning, the Knowledge

behind the relative knowledge, the Chit-Ether containing the mental

ether, remains as the Only One always shining bright.

D.: Still I do not understand. How shall I realise it?

M.: It is also said, " Remain free from thoughts, " and " It is

realised only in the mind drawn within. " Therefore, the mind made

free from thoughts, and merged in the Heart. is Chit Itself.

D.: Is the aforesaid mental ether Isvara or Hiranyagarbha?

M.: Can the latter remain independent of the former? The same is

Isvara and Hiranyagarbha.

D.: How do they differ from each other?

 

M.: The Immanent Being is called Isvara.

 

D.: Is not the Immanent Being Chit-akasa only?

 

M.: Immanence can only be with Maya. It is the Knowledge of Being

along with Maya; from this subtle conceit Hiranyagarbha; from the

latter the gross conceit virat. Chit-atma is Pure Being only.

 

TALK 591:

 

D.: Seekers who are in immediate proximity of the Master can get

grace by darsana, sparsana, etc. (look, touch, etc.). But how does

one get the same grace when the person is at a distance?

M.: By yoga drishti (yogic look).

Mr. Chopra, a Punjabi employed in Singapore, is on a visit here and

raised a few questions.

D.: What is the efficacy of the name?

Sri Bhagavan read out the extract from the Vision. It was a

translation of Namdev's stanzas.

D.: How does the name help Realisation?

M.: The original name is always going on spontaneously without any

effort on the part of the individual. That name is aham - `I'. But

when it becomes manifest it manifests as ahamkara - the ego. The

oral repetition of nama leads one to mental repetition which finally

resolves itself into the eternal vibration.

D.: But these are all mental or physical.

M.: The mind or the mouth cannot act without the Self. Tukaram, the

great Maharashtra Saint, used to remain in samadhi in the day and

sing and dance at night with large crowds of people. He always used

to utter the name of Sri Rama.

Once he was answering calls of nature and also saying " Ram, Ram " . An

orthodox priest was shocked at the unholy mention of the sacred name

and so reprimanded him and ordered him to be silent when he answered

calls of nature.

Tukaram said, " All right! " and remained mute. But at once there

arose the name of Rama from every pore of Tukaram and the priest was

horrified by the din. He then prayed to Tukaram " Restrictions are

only for the common people and not for saints like you. "

D.: It is said that Sri Ramakrishna saw life in the image of Kali

which he worshipped. Can it be true?

M.: The life was perceptible to Sri Ramakrishna and not to all. The

vital force was due to himself. It was his own vital force which

manifested as if it were outside and drew him in. Were the image

full of life it must have been found so by all. But everything is

full of life. That is the fact. Many devotees have had experiences

similar to those of Sri Ramakrishna.

D.: How can there be life in stone? It is unconscious.

 

M.: The whole universe is full of life. You say the stone is

unconscious. It is your self-consciousness which now speaks of

unconsciousness. When a person wants to see if there is an article

in a dark room he takes a lamp to look for it. The light is useful

for detecting the presence and the absence of the thing.

Consciousness is necessary for discovering if a thing is conscious

or not. If a man remains in a dark room one need not take a lamp to

find him. If called, he answers. He does not require a lamp to

announce his presence. Consciousness is thus self-shining.

 

Now you say you were unconscious in sleep and self-conscious in the

wakeful state. Which is the Reality? The Reality must be continuous

and eternal. Neither the unconsciousness nor the self-consciousness

of the present is the Reality. But you admit your existence all

through. The pure Being is the reality. The others are mere

associations. The pure Being cannot be otherwise than consciousness.

Otherwise you cannot say that you exist. Therefore consciousness is

the reality. When that consciousness is associated with upadhis you

speak of self-consciousness, unconsciousness, sub-consciousness,

super-consciousness, humanconsciousness, dog-consciousness, tree-

consciousness and so on. The unaltering common factor in all of them

is consciousness. Therefore the stone is as much unconscious as you

are in sleep. Is that totally devoid of consciousness?

D.: But a dog-consciousness is different from my consciousness. I

cannot read the Bible to the dog. The tree again does not move

whereas I move and act.

M.: Call the tree a standing man; and call the man a moving tree.

An American gentleman who also took part in the conversation would

not allow Sri Bhagavan to explain and so it stopped here.

 

--- End forwarded message ---

[Guest guest]

Please note that a selection from TALKS is being offered each day

over on NamoRamana, a sister list to this one. Please join us if you

wish to read this daily message. -Gloria

 

 

NamoRamana , " saikali6362 " <saikali6362

wrote:

 

Selections from TALKS WITH SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI-105

 

TALK 582:

 

Sri Bhagavan: If one goes on wanting, one's wants cannot be

fulfilled. Whereas if one remains desireless anything will be

forthcoming. We are not in the wife, children, profession, etc.; but

they are in us; they appear and disappear according to one's

prarabdha. The mind remaining still is samadhi, no matter whether

the world is perceived or not.

Environment, time and objects are all in me. How can they be

independent of me? They may change, but I remain unchanging, always

the same. The objects can be differentiated by means of their names

and forms, whereas each one's name is only one and that is `I'. Ask

anyone, he says `I' and speaks of himself as `I', even if He is

Isvara. His name too is `I' only. So also of a locality. As long as

I am identified with the body so long a locality is distinguishable;

otherwise not. Am I the body? Does the body announce itself as `I'?

Clearly all these are in me. All these wiped out entirely, the

residual Peace is `I'. This is samadhi, this is `I'.

 

TALK 587:

 

Spanish lady asked: You say the Heart is on the right. Can you

explain how it is so? Sri Bhagavan handed over the extract from the

Psychological Review of Philadelphia for her to read. He also added.

The Heart is the place wherefrom the `I-thought' arises.

D.: So you mean the spiritual Heart as distinguished from the

physical heart?

M.: Yes. It is explained in Ch. V of Sri Ramana Gita.

D.: Is there any stage when one might feel the Heart?

M.: It is within the experience of everyone. Everyone touches the

right side of his chest when he says `I'.

 

TALK 589:

 

Somasundara Swami: There is akasa in a mirror and it reflects

images. How are these contained in the mirror?

M.: Objects remain in space. Objects and space are together

reflected in the mirror. Just as the things are found in space, so

they are in the reflection also. The mirror is itself thin. How can

these objects be contained in its compass?

D.: How does the akasa in a pot illustrate this point?

M.: There is no reflection in the akasa of the pot. The reflection

is only in the water in it. Keeping several pots filled with water

in a tank, the akasa is reflected equally in the water in each of

the pots and in the water of the tank. Similarly the whole universe

is reflected in each individual.

D.: The mouths of the pots must be above the surface of the water in

the tank.

M.: Yes, it must be so. Otherwise can the pots be recognised if sunk

in the tank?

D.: How does the reflection take place there?

M.: Pure ether cannot take reflections; only the ether of water can

do so. Glass cannot reflect objects; only a plate of glass with an

opaque lining on its back can reflect the objects in front of it.

Similarly Pure Knowledge does not contain objects in it nor reflect

objects. Only with the limiting adjunct, the mind, it reflects the

world. Neither in samadhi nor in deep sleep does the world remain.

There cannot be illusion either in bright light or in total

darkness. Only in dim light a rope seems a snake. Similarly Pure

Consciousness remains light only; it is pure knowledge. The mind

rising from it is deluded that the objects remain apart.

D.: So then the mind is the mirror.

M.: Mind - mind what is it? It is a mixture of Chit (intelligence)

and sankalpas (thoughts). Therefore it forms all these - the mirror,

light, darkness and the reflections.

D.: But I do not see it.

 

M.: Chidakasa (chit-ether) is Pure Knowledge only, It is the source

of mind. Just at the moment of rising up, the mind is only light;

only afterwards the thought " I am this " rises up; this `I-thought'

forms the jiva and the world.

 

The first light is the pure mind, the mind ether or Isvara. Its

modes manifest as objects. Because it contains all these objects

within itself it is called the mind-ether. Why ether? Like ether

containing objects it contains the thoughts, therefore it is the

mind-ether. Again, just as the physical ether though accommodating

all the gross objects (the whole universe) is itself the content of

the mind-ether, so also the latter is itself the content of Chit-

ether. The last one is Chit Itself. There are no things contained in

it. It remains as Pure Knowledge only.

 

D.: Why call it ether? Physical ether is not sentient.

 

M.: Ether denotes not only the insentient physical ether but also

Pure Knowledge. Knowledge does not consist in knowing objects: this

is relative knowledge. But Knowledge in its purity remains all

alone, One, unique, transcendent Light!

 

D.: Well - should we be imagining it in our meditation?

M.: Why imagine? We can think of another only if we are independent

of it, whereas here we cannot remain independent of this Pure

Knowledge. Rather, only IT is! How can It be imagined to be so and

so or such and such?

D.: How are we to proceed?

 

M.: Only get rid of the non-self.

 

D.: It looks all right now; but later it is all forgotten.

 

M.: Your forgetfulness implies knowledge, for you know you forgot;

otherwise how can you speak of forgetting it? So forgetfulness also

is Chit-akasa (Chit-ether) only.

 

D.: How then is it not clear to me?

M.: Chit is knowledge pure and simple. The mind proceeds from it;

the mind is made up of thoughts. Darkness or ignorance interposing.

Pure Knowledge seems different from what It really is; the same is

seen as `I' and the `world' which are full of desire, attachment,

hatred, etc. Therefore desire, etc., are said to veil the Reality.

D.: How to be rid of thoughts? Is it as said in the Atma-Vidya - the

eye of the mental eye, etc.?

M.: There the mind stands for ether, Being (sat); and the eye for

knowledge (chit); both sat and chit together form the universe.

D.: How to realise the same?

M.: As pointed out in the Atma Vidya " being the eye of the mental

eye, the ether of the mental ether..... " , meaning, the Knowledge

behind the relative knowledge, the Chit-Ether containing the mental

ether, remains as the Only One always shining bright.

D.: Still I do not understand. How shall I realise it?

M.: It is also said, " Remain free from thoughts, " and " It is

realised only in the mind drawn within. " Therefore, the mind made

free from thoughts, and merged in the Heart. is Chit Itself.

D.: Is the aforesaid mental ether Isvara or Hiranyagarbha?

M.: Can the latter remain independent of the former? The same is

Isvara and Hiranyagarbha.

D.: How do they differ from each other?

 

M.: The Immanent Being is called Isvara.

 

D.: Is not the Immanent Being Chit-akasa only?

 

M.: Immanence can only be with Maya. It is the Knowledge of Being

along with Maya; from this subtle conceit Hiranyagarbha; from the

latter the gross conceit virat. Chit-atma is Pure Being only.

 

TALK 591:

 

D.: Seekers who are in immediate proximity of the Master can get

grace by darsana, sparsana, etc. (look, touch, etc.). But how does

one get the same grace when the person is at a distance?

M.: By yoga drishti (yogic look).

Mr. Chopra, a Punjabi employed in Singapore, is on a visit here and

raised a few questions.

D.: What is the efficacy of the name?

Sri Bhagavan read out the extract from the Vision. It was a

translation of Namdev's stanzas.

D.: How does the name help Realisation?

M.: The original name is always going on spontaneously without any

effort on the part of the individual. That name is aham - `I'. But

when it becomes manifest it manifests as ahamkara - the ego. The

oral repetition of nama leads one to mental repetition which finally

resolves itself into the eternal vibration.

D.: But these are all mental or physical.

M.: The mind or the mouth cannot act without the Self. Tukaram, the

great Maharashtra Saint, used to remain in samadhi in the day and

sing and dance at night with large crowds of people. He always used

to utter the name of Sri Rama.

Once he was answering calls of nature and also saying " Ram, Ram " . An

orthodox priest was shocked at the unholy mention of the sacred name

and so reprimanded him and ordered him to be silent when he answered

calls of nature.

Tukaram said, " All right! " and remained mute. But at once there

arose the name of Rama from every pore of Tukaram and the priest was

horrified by the din. He then prayed to Tukaram " Restrictions are

only for the common people and not for saints like you. "

D.: It is said that Sri Ramakrishna saw life in the image of Kali

which he worshipped. Can it be true?

M.: The life was perceptible to Sri Ramakrishna and not to all. The

vital force was due to himself. It was his own vital force which

manifested as if it were outside and drew him in. Were the image

full of life it must have been found so by all. But everything is

full of life. That is the fact. Many devotees have had experiences

similar to those of Sri Ramakrishna.

D.: How can there be life in stone? It is unconscious.

 

M.: The whole universe is full of life. You say the stone is

unconscious. It is your self-consciousness which now speaks of

unconsciousness. When a person wants to see if there is an article

in a dark room he takes a lamp to look for it. The light is useful

for detecting the presence and the absence of the thing.

Consciousness is necessary for discovering if a thing is conscious

or not. If a man remains in a dark room one need not take a lamp to

find him. If called, he answers. He does not require a lamp to

announce his presence. Consciousness is thus self-shining.

 

Now you say you were unconscious in sleep and self-conscious in the

wakeful state. Which is the Reality? The Reality must be continuous

and eternal. Neither the unconsciousness nor the self-consciousness

of the present is the Reality. But you admit your existence all

through. The pure Being is the reality. The others are mere

associations. The pure Being cannot be otherwise than consciousness.

Otherwise you cannot say that you exist. Therefore consciousness is

the reality. When that consciousness is associated with upadhis you

speak of self-consciousness, unconsciousness, sub-consciousness,

super-consciousness, humanconsciousness, dog-consciousness, tree-

consciousness and so on. The unaltering common factor in all of them

is consciousness. Therefore the stone is as much unconscious as you

are in sleep. Is that totally devoid of consciousness?

D.: But a dog-consciousness is different from my consciousness. I

cannot read the Bible to the dog. The tree again does not move

whereas I move and act.

M.: Call the tree a standing man; and call the man a moving tree.

An American gentleman who also took part in the conversation would

not allow Sri Bhagavan to explain and so it stopped here.

 

--- End forwarded message ---