abide in the Self here and now

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The Teachings of BhagavanSri Ramana Maharshiin His Own WordsCHAPTER ONERELIGIONSWhile confirming the various religions, Bhagavan at the sametime urged people to get beyond them to the One Self. PaulBrunton, author of A Search In Secret India asked him aboutthe various doctrines of heaven and hell.Devotee: Why do religions speak of gods, heaven, hell etc?Bhagavan: Only to make people realise that they are on a par withthis world and that the Self alone is real. The religions areaccording to the viewpoint of the seeker. (Take the BhagavadGita for instance; when Arjuna said that he would not fightagainst his own relations and elders, in order to kill them andgain the kingdom, Sri Krishna said: `Not that these, you or Iwere not before, are not now, nor will be hereafter. None wasborn, none has died, nor will it be so hereafter' and so on.Later, as he developed the theme and declared that He had giventhe same instruction to the Sun, through him to Ikshvaku, etc.Arjuna raised the doubt: `How can that be? You were born afew years ago. They lived ages ago'. Then Sri Krishna,understanding Arjuna's standpoint, said: `Yes, there have beenmany incarnations of myself and yourself; I know them all, butyou do not'). Such statements appear contradictory, but stillboth are right according to the point of view of the questioner.Christ also declared "Before Abraham was, I am."D.: What is the purpose of such descriptions in religion?B.: Only to establish the reality of the Self.D.: Bhagavan always speaks from the highest standpoint.B.: (smiling): People will not understand the bare and simpletruth – the truth of their everyday, ever-present and eternalexperience. That is the truth of the Self. Is there any one not awareof the Self? Yet, they do not even like to hear of it, whereas they areeager to know what lies beyond – heaven and hell and reincarnation.Because they love mystery and not the plain truth, religions pamperthem – only to bring them round to the Self in the end. Moreover,much as you may wander you must return ultimately to the Self;so why not abide in the Self here and now? 11 Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, 145.