SELF REALISATION IS BEYOND TECHNIQUES:

October 25, 2008

prof laxmi narain (prof_narain)

Source and courtesy: Sri Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad

This article was published in Sri Ramana Jyothi,

monthly magazine of the Kendram.

SELF REALISATION IS BEYOND TECHNIQUES: Once an aspiring Zen disciple,

would meditate long hours everyday. When his master asked him the

purpose of the meditation, he answered that it was to become an

enlightened being like the Buddha. The Master grabbed a brick and

started rubbing it on a rock. In answer to the disciple's query,

the Master told him that he wanted to polish the brick into a

mirror. " How can you make a mirror by polishing a brick? Asked the

disciple. The Master's reply was a counter question: " How can you

become a Buddha by practising meditation? " The moral of the story is

that techniques and methods are not of great consequence in the

spiritual domain. The most common form of technique that is given to

a seeker of Truth is mantra or japa. The disciple sits with the eyes

closed and repeats the words that are given to him by the Master. But

it is basically a form of self-hypnosis that lulls the seeker into a

pseudo-peaceful state which can easily be taken for real peace. A

seeker can also get trapped by attractive yet illusionary visions and

sounds that are basically projected by his unconscious mind during

meditation. In fact it is easy to get lost in this `spiritual

jungle.' Sri Ramana Maharshi never laid down or prescribed a

particular posture, or japa, or ritual, or procedure for realizing

the Truth. His emphasis was on intensive introspection,

interiorization, atma vichara through the question Who am I? which

will lead to realize the Higher Self. –

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