Ramana Maharshi Disciple about Gaining One-Pointedness in Self

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For whatever thing a liking or love arises in you, upon that thing your mind

will certainly gain one-pointedness, because such is the nature of the

mind. Unless

a real love for Self arises in you, you will not turn within and attend to

it one-pointedly; in-stead you will always be telling some excuse or other

for not doing so.

 

(How to decide what is real?) Whatever exists always and unceasingly,

whatever exists without ever undergoing any change, and whatever shines by

its own light of consciousness without de-pending upon the aid of any other

thing, either to know it or to make it known – that alone is to be de-cided

as real, is it not?

 

Note: Compare Maharshi’s Gospel, 8th ed., page 63, where Sri Bhagavan says,

“What is the standard of reality? That alone is real which exists by itself,

which reveals itself by itself, and which is eternal and unchanging.”

 

Existing always and unceasingly, means to be deathless and indestructible;

existing without ever undergoing any change, means to be devoid of movement

(achala), either in time or in space; shin-ing by its own light, means to be

the consciousness that itself clearly knows its own existence, and not to be

an insentient object that is known only by the aid of some other thing.

Knowing that the definition of reality is such, scrutinize and decide what

is real.

 

Whatever satisfies this definition of reality, having all the aforesaid

three characteristics, alone is to be accepted as real. Therefore,

scrutinize and see whether there is anything in this world that can satisfy

this definition. If you scrutinize carefully, you will find that every

object exists for some time and then disappears, that every object undergoes

change and is devoid of stability, and that every ob-ject is known only by

the aid of some other thing.

 

The body and world are ever changing. But your own existence is the

consciousness “I am” that always exists unceasingly, and without under-going

any change, is it not? Did you not exist with-out any deficiency even in

sleep, where everything else had become non-existent? Therefore, how can

there be any other thing that is more real than you? Consider well and say.

 

All the four inner organs (or antahkaranas), namely the mind, intellect,

knowledge (chitta) and ego, are ever undergoing change, and they cease to

exist in sleep. But you are always the same “you,” are you not? Did any

second “you” exist in your sleep to know you, who know all the objects that

ap-pear in waking and dream? You, who are the one and only “you,” alone

existed in sleep, did you not?

 

Therefore, knowing that you, the Self, alone are real, drown in your own

non-dual blissful existence-consciousness and experience the state of

Self-abidance, which is completely devoid of the unreal body and mind. To

experience this state is alone the real duty of all good and cultured

people.

 

Source: A Light on the Teaching of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi The Essence

of Spiritual Practice (Sadhanai Saram) By Sri Sadhu Om

 

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Om namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Prasanth Jalasutram