Sri Ramana says in the first verse of Atma Vidya:
Self-Knowledge is an easy thing. The easiest thing there is. The Self is something that is entirely real Even for the most ordinary man, It could be said that a clear gooseberry Is an illusion by comparison.
Contents From Atma Vidya: 1 & 3-4
Sri Sadisvara Mandiram Pratishta: 6
Events at SAT: 5
Letters from Sri Ramanasramam: 8
From the Ramana Way: 15
Satsang with Nome: 9
Ever Yours in Truth: 21
Temple Bulletin: 25
Upcoming Events: 34
Retreats at SAT: 35
Publisher: Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT Temple) / Editor: Sasvati Nome 1834 Ocean St., Santa Cruz, CA 95060 USA831.425.7287 / email: sat@cruzio.com / https://SATRamana.org Reflections, July, August, September, 2017, Copyright 2017
Verse 1 of Atma Vidya explained by Nome: Self-Knowledge is Supreme Knowledge, which is Consciousness. The Vedas declare it to be Brahman. Self-Knowledge is the easiest thing there is. So, for what are efforts in spiritual practice? They are only for the destruction of ignorance, the destruction of illusion. When illusion is destroyed, one realizes that nothing has been destroyed. The belief that the illusion came into existence to is relinquished. Ego-death is said to be required for Self-Realization, but the ego does not actually exist. The unreal never is; the real always is. So, how can there be any difficulty in this? Difficulties, or obstructions to Realization, encountered in spiritual practice are merely imagined. They are as unreal as the illusion that one is trying to transcend. Who is it that needs to get over illusion? Who is it that is bound? If we inquire thus, we find that there is and has been no bound individual. The individual or “I,� or ego, is the root of all other delusion. If he has not been born, what can be said about the entirety of delusion? It has not actually come to be. Therefore, Self-Knowledge is an easy thing, the easiest thing that there is. The Self is something that is entirely real even for the most ordinary man. Everyone knows that he exists. You know this without thinking about it. You know R e f l e cti on s \
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this, with or without the senses. The existence and the knowledge of it do not require sensory activity. You exist, and you know that you exist. How do you know that you exist? It is not through the senses. If the senses were to be eliminated, you would still know that you exist. If you would imagine a state in which you cease to exist, you would still exist in order to have that cognition or experience. You exist always, and the knowledge of existence is innate. This is true for everyone. So, he says, even for the most ordinary man. It could be said that a clear gooseberry is an illusion by comparison. The reference is to an analogy of a fruit in the palm of one’s hand being so clearly obvious. There is nothing as obvious as the Self. There is nothing else as obvious as your own Existence. Everything else is known by inference or by other workings of the mind. How can you overlook your own Existence? Your Existence is your happiness. Existence, Sat, is Chit, Consciousness, and Ananda, Bliss. Where Being is, there is Bliss. Whenever there is a limitation superimposed on happiness, which is experienced as suffering, there is an apparent overlooking of one’s own existence. How can that be? Examine your experience. Do you ever cease to exist? Does happiness ever come from any place else other than the Self within? No matter what the state of your body, no matter what the state of your mind, whether you are awake, dreaming, or deep asleep, you exist, and you never cease to know of your existence. The Truth is self-evident, evident to itself. So, Self-Knowledge is easy. It is not in the scale of easy and hard. It is easy in that the transcendent is the innate. This is not easy or difficult according to the viewpoint of the individual. Being innate, which is without the individual, it is the nature of your very Being. If your experience is this, you understand the Maharshi well. If your experience is otherwise or is intermittent, you should ask yourself, “Why?” What do you mistake yourself to be to consider the Self to be less, obscured, or absent? What do you assume about yourself to consider Knowledge to be more or less, at any time? What do you suppose yourself to be or consider to be real to veil the infinite Bliss of your own nature?
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Adi Sankara Jayanti
Chitragupta Day,
April 30, 2017
May 10, 2017
Special Events at SAT Ribhu Rishi Day May 14, 2017
Self-Knowledge Retreat, May 26-28, 2017 Images, readings, and bhajans from these events can be viewed by following these links: https://satramana.org/web/gallery/ and https://www.facebook.com/SATTemple R e f l e cti on s \
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Sri Sadisvara Mandiram Pratishta Day, June 14, 2017
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In \h[kti, worship \_]om_s illumin_^, m_^it[tion ]ontinuous, th_ sym\ols [liv_, th_ t_mpl_ on_’s hom_, th_ s]riptur_s’ m_[ning op_n, ^_vot_^ s_rvi]_ th_ []tivity of th_ ^ivin_, h[ppin_ss full, p_[]_ ]ompl_t_, [n^ lov_ r_[]h_s its z_nith [s, \y S_lf-Knowl_^g_, th_ _t_rn[l Exist_n]_ of Go^ is r_[liz_^ [s on_’s own.
–Nom_, P[r[\h[kti
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from LETTERS FROM SRI RAMANASRAMAM
The Boundless Wisdom of Sri Ramana Maharshi
Hearing, Meditation and the Like (135) July 19, 1947 Yesterday, two pandits came from Kumbakonam. This morning at 9 o’clock, they approached Bhagavan and said, “Swami, we take leave of you. We pray that you may be pleased to bless us that our mind may merge or dissolve itself in shanti.” Bhagavan nodded his head as usual. After they had left, he said, looking at Ramachandra Iyer, “Shanthi is the original state. If what comes from outside is rejected, what remains is peace. What, then, is there to dissolve or merge? Only that which comes from outside has to be thrown out. If people whose minds are mature are simply told that the swarupa itself is shanti, they get jnana. It is only for immature minds that sravana and manana are prescribed, but for mature minds there is no need of them. If people at a distance enquire how to go to Ramana Maharshi, we have to tell them to get into such and such a train or take such and such a path, but if they come to Tiruvannamalai, reach Ramanasramam and step into the hall, it is enough if only they are told, here is that person. There is no need for them to move any farther.” “Sravana and manana mean only those described in Vedanta, don’t they?” said someone. “Yes,” Bhagavan replied, “But one thing. Not only are there outward sravana and manana, but there are also inward sravana and manana. They must occur to a person as a result of the maturity of his mind. Those that are liable to do that aantara sravana (hearing inwardly) do not have any doubts.” Whenever anyone asked what those aantara sravanas are, he used to say, “Aantara sravana means the knowledge of that Atma, which is in the
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cave of the heart always illuminated with the feeling “aham, aham” (I,I), and to get that feeling to be in one’s heart is manana, and to remain in one’s self is nididhyasa.” In this connection, it is worthwhile remembering the sloka written by Bhagavan bearing on this subject. In that sloka, mention is made not only to Atma sphurana but also how to secure it. Securing means only remaining in one’s own self.
ùdyk… h rmXye ke v l< äümaÇm! , ýhmhimit sa]adaTmêpe [ Éait, ùid ivz mnsa Svm icNvta m¾ta va, pvncln rae x adaTminòae Év Tvm! . hådayakuharamadhye kevalaà brahmamätram | hyahamahamiti säkñädätmarüpeëa bhäti | hådi viça manasä svama cinvatä majjatä vä | pavanacalana rodhädätmaniñöo bhava tvam || “Brahman is glowing lustrously in the middle of the cave of the Heart in the shape of the Self, always proclaiming “I am, I am.” Become an Atmanistha, a Self-realized person, either by making the mind absorbed in the search of the Self or by making the mind drown itself through control of the breath.” \
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Satsang with Nome Self-Illumined November 25, 2007 Om Om Om (Silence) Nome: True silence is unwavering abidance as the Self, of the nature of Being-Consciousness-Bliss. To realize this conclusively is a matter of Self-Knowledge. The Self, pure Being, is ever still and is absolutely silent. For that, there is neither birth nor death, neither beginning nor end, and no kind of differentiation, such as high and low, in and out, and so forth and so on. So, for that, there is no movement ever. If, in imagination, another appears, then there is the illusion of motion, of leaving the Self and returning to It. Leaving it is suffering. Returning to it is a revelation of happiness. But who is it that departs and returns? What is it that is born and what remains unborn? To know this, you must search for the nature of your own existence: “Who am I?” The Maharshi has stated that Silence is that state in which no “I” arises. So, seek the nature of this “I,” the apparently individualized or embodied existence, and determine by inner Knowledge what its nature is. Inner Knowledge is not sensory perception and certainly not mental conception. That you exist is true. That you know you exist is irrefutable. By what light, by what knowing principle, do you know that you exist? That is not perceptual. That is not conceptual. Who is it that leaves the Self to imagine bondage and thereby suffer? If the nature of that one is found, there is neither bondage nor suffering, and the Liberation for which spiritual seekers yearn is found to be one’s own nature. That nature is illimitable Consciousness, unborn, imperishable Being, unembodied, and of the nature of no-ego, no individuality. So while it is casually said, “Abide as the Self” and Ribhu repeats this often in his instruction to Nidagha, “Abide as the Self, in That as That Itself,”
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it does not mean that one should abide in another, as if there is yourself and the Self. Rather, it signifies the Self just as it is, devoid of the delusion of imagining oneself to be something else, something other, starting with the “I” notion, or individuality, and extending to any form of definition appended to that, such as embodiment. The Self alone is capable of knowing the Self. Brahman knows Brahman. Another does not know so. For that, there is no other, nor is there any other means to know It. This, then, becomes the significance of the verse that appears in Katha Upanishad, Mundaka Upanishad, Svetasvatara Upanishad, etc., “Not there does the sun shine, nor the moon, nor the stars, nor the lightning.” Then, it adds, “That shining, all these shine.” Something shines by which you know all. Find out the nature of that knower by its own light, Consciousness illuminating itself with no objectivity. Something is, by which, through delusion, simple imagination, one says, “This is, this is, this is.” What is it that truly is? It is nonobjective. It is not the world; nor is it the body, nor the senses. It is not the mind or any of the permutations of thought. What is it that exists, pervading all, appearing as all, but which, itself, in its own nature, has no appearance? What is it that has nothing inside it and nothing outside it, but is the Perfect Fullness. Find this by inquiring within yourself, “Who am I?” for it is you who say of anything, “I know this,” or “This is.” Trace the knowing and the reality back to their source. It is your identity. You are not the individual; the individual imagined himself to be. If you know yourself as That, and That alone exists, such is unwavering abidance; such is perpetual Silence. Go on inquiring within yourself to know your own nature, until that immortal blissful Knowledge is found to be innate. Questioner: Is the seer, or the witness, the Self, or is the Self prior to the seer or witness? N.: The Self regarded in relation to objects, which are the witnessed, is called the witness. In itself, it is entirely devoid of subject and object.
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Q.: Is the Self the witness of the witness?
Q.: Clarity.
N.: That would be redundant, wouldn’t it?
N.: What creates the obscuration?
Q.: I mean prior to.
Q.: Ignorance.
N.: That very thing that appears as God to those who believe the world is real is the very thing that appears as the Witness to those who observe the mind. In itself, it is just the Self, Being, without anything else, without any difference whatsoever. Q.: So, it is within the seer, or witness, but can’t be confined to being the seer or witness.
Q.: The closest thing I have as far as experience goes, is, in deep meditation, touching that witnessing or seeing, or being in that awareness at times, detached. The experience of Being I don’t know how I could talk about that. I could talk about seeing or witnessing. N.: Alright. In the depths of meditation, you felt yourself to be the witness. Is this what you are saying? Q.: Yes. N.: What has transpired that the present experience is different than the deepest experience in meditation? Q.: Being identified with the seen. N.: What part of the seen are you? Q.: All of it or none of it. N.: Is that the present experience? Q.: I would like it to be. (laughter) N.: Alright. The desire is good. What is the nature of the “I” who would like it to be? Q.: It is That. N.: Are you certain of that? Q.: You told me. (laughter) It is my experience at times but not all the time. N.: What is the difference between the two times? It cannot just be the days on the calendar. (laughter) Q.: Depth of clarity, depth of seeing. N.: Does your nature change or just your clarity?
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Q.: If I could identify it in the moment as such. In the identification, I could dissolve it through inquiry. N.: So what are you waiting for? (laughter) Q.: Good question.
N.: Alright. Is that your experience?
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N.: If you knew it as ignorance, would it be obscuring?
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N.: You are discussing this as if it takes place in another time, another place, or for somebody else. Q.: It’s happening right now. N.: If you determine who the “I” is in all of the statements or ideas just presented, if you determine what his nature is, the Self, the Witness, and everything else will be clear for you. Q.: Experientially? N.: Experientially. Q.: Not just conceptually. N.: A concept cannot possibly be the real thing. By Knowledge, in terms of Self-Knowledge, is meant something entirely of the nature of firsthand experience, more real and more experiential than anything perceived through the senses, or anything conceived in the mind. Your Existence is not a concept. Always, start and finish with your own Existence. If you have high states and low states, find out for whom they pertain. If you observe that the high states are a lack of ignorance and not an addition of something new to your nature, that is excellent, but continue the inquiry, “Who am I?” If you observe that your experience is different at one time, higher at one time and lower at another, freer at one point and more bound at another, determine what misidentification, or what attachment, what kind of confusion regarding your nature, is creating that veil, that obscuration. Inquire to see if you are really that. Then, you will find that actually you are never involved with any of that imagination. You are but a silent Witness to all of it. Inquiring into the nature of the Witness, you will find that It is fathomless, boundary-less, with nothing apart from it, and with nothing to be
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witnessed. Your identity will be consumed in That. Q.: So, the Witness ultimately sees there is nothing to witness.
nected to the body? So, then, it cannot have a location. A location would be something of which you are aware, would it not? But the Self is never an object of such awareness.
N.: Find that out by direct experience.
Q.: So, we’re not this body.
Another Q.: What is it that is innate to me’? The only thing that I know that’s innate is my Existence. How does Existence know itself? How can I be so sure that the one thing that is innate is Existence? How does Reality know that it’s real’? All those questions have an answer that is actually interior to the questions. N.: The Knowledge is nonobjective, interior even to what is regarded as interior is utterly nonobjective. Moreover, Being is Consciousness. It is not inert. Therefore, the question truly is not, “How can it know itself?” but rather, “How could it not know itself?” Q.: It can only be done through imagination, and I know I am imagining. N.: As Sri Bhagavan said, are there two selves, one to know or not know, to realize or not realize, the other”? That which is described as Self-Knowledge and lauded as supreme Wisdom or supreme Knowledge must necessarily be identical with Being. If it were differentiated to the least degree, it would not be real, and it would not endure. The Maharshi has said that what is not eternal is not worth seeking. Another Q.: I feel a sense of deeper self, which gives me a sense of peace in your company. I remember reading in some of Maharshi’s works that he talks about the Self and relationship to abiding as the Heart, or located in the Heart. Would you comment on that? N.: What do you understand by the Heart? Q.: Not the physical heart. Since I feel that I’m not the brain or its thoughts, I’m wondering if the location of, or let me say the source of, the Self might not be more in this region. (gestures with a hand toward the chest)
N.: Such descriptions may have yogic purposes, but for Jnana or Knowledge, what is necessary is realization of the Self, which is bodiless, objectless, timeless, and zlocation-less. Q.: And truly liberating. N.: Yes. It liberates by revealing how one was never actually bound. If you are one place, you may go to another; in one centre, you may go to another, but, if the nature of that “you” is determined, it neither comes nor goes anywhere. Another Q.: There’s something, some belief, that’s not the Self, that I lend my reality to that prevents … N.: It appears to prevent, but how does it prevent and who is prevented? If ignorance is known as ignorance, it ceases to exist then and there. Even when ignorance is thought to be true, it does not actually become truer. It is lacking solidity. Q.: Yes. N.: How could something that is so insubstantial that it can only be regarded as mere imagination be an obstruction? That it could even seem solid, a place to exist, a state in which to be, is merely a testimony to the potency of the underlying Reality which is your own nature. ter)
Q.: I think of it as unending. N.: If it is unending, it must be without beginning. Although It may be regarded as the origin of all, it Itself is origin-less. Can it possibly be con-
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Q.: They are more descriptive in nature and not necessarily essential?
Q.: Ok, that question got blown apart. (laugh-
N.: Does the Self have a source?
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N.: The Maharshi has given copious instruction to realize that you are not the body, and he has spoken of the Heart as the core of one’s Being, of the nature of pure Existence. Of course, there are passages of the recorded teachings that deal with yogic lore, and this refers to various things of a subtle character and not…
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N.: So all spiritual instruction regarding obstruction is only for the purpose of the negation or removal of the obstruction and not to build up the supposition that there really is an obstruction.
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Q.: So, it’s to turn the mind inward and destroy that which obstructs. N.: That can be its only purpose. Spiritual instruction, whether it is in the shastras, or given verbally, could not have any other purpose, such as making the obstruction substantial in any way, because that would not be a help. Moreover, it is not strengthen a belief in delusion for one already knows that. You do not need instruction in illusion. (laughter) One does not need to be told how he is bound, he already knows that. He does not need to know about duality, he also already knows that. Q.: It is still recognizing what is binding me, what I am putting my belief into? N.: What is binding you? Q.: The perpetual treadmill of spiritual practice. N.: How does spiritual practice bind? Q.: No, it’s not that, but it’s the guy on the treadmill practicing. N.: So, the practice is not the problem; it is the practitioner. Q.: Yes, it’s the practitioner, (laughter) the perpetual practitioner. N.: What is his nature? Q.: Or the non-practitioner, because, practicing, he can fall out. So his nature is not really practicing but is trying to practice. N.: What is the nature of the practice or sadhana? Q.: The nature of the practice is the nature of the Self. N.: Well, then, that can’t be binding. (laughter) Therefore, perpetual practice would be a good thing, because it would be undifferentiated from Knowledge. What is perpetual must be formless, since no form is eternal. There cannot be two formlessness-es. There is only one that is infinite, formless, and perpetual. That is the Reality. Sri Ramana points out that with effort, that is called practice, without effort that is known as the natural state, or the innate state, Sahaja”. So, where are you bound? Q.: It is not the Self obviously, because that obliterates everything.
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N.: That has no bondage, does it? Q.: No. N.: So, who is it that becomes bound? Who is it that becomes bound, apparently binding himself by his own illusion? Q.: What would be the purpose of all this? N.: There cannot be a genuine purpose for the unreal. Reality may be regarded as the supreme purpose or transcendent of the idea of purpose, since it is simply self-existent. Q.: Something that comes and goes, or appears to come and go, doesn’t have a purpose? N.: In the final analysis, no, it has no purpose. There cannot be a purpose for something that does not truly exist, that is unreal. If you wish to speak of it as having a purpose, it is only to turn you in the right direction to know yourself. Q.: Ok. N.: Are there two of you: the Self and yourself? The certainty regarding that, which is the aim of spiritual practice and the substance of Realization, is inherent in the Self. Q.: It is permanent with the real depth of that Knowledge? N.: You want the Knowledge to be permanent, to be perfectly steady. Its unsteadiness is only apparent and not real. The unsteadiness is due to supervening obscuration, misidentification. When you misidentify, you do not really become something else. If the source of the misidentifications is sought, the “I” notion, the assumption of individuality, proves to be nonexistent. All that is there is the solitary Existence, or pure Being. If the ignorant one is absent, so is his ignorance, and the intrinsic steadiness of Knowledge stands self-revealed. We can say that the Knowledge becomes permanent, but it is probably better to say the impermanent ignorance is destroyed. Q.: It is not a little thought anymore. N.: Correct; none of this is on the level of thought. Knowledge is entirely thought-transcendent. Q.: Everything else is on the level of thought. N.: Then, it is merely imagined.
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Q.: If what I believe is ignorance, it is on the level of thought. N.: Do thoughts stand up and have their own reality? Q.: No. N.: Since they do not, is not all of that occurring on a level that does not actually exist? It is like talking about the shapes of the waves of a mirage. Q.: I don’t know if I can I say that I understand it, but it seems to make sense. N.: To determine what this is, to determine how true it is, inquire into your own nature. See if there are two selves, a bound one and a liberated one. See if there are two realities, a thought-created one and the transcendent one. You will find that the Self is the Reality, and it is only One, absolutely One. Another Q.: When Nisargadatta said, “You can never know who you are until you know who you are not,” he meant intellectual knowing, which is not true Knowledge? N.: You may interpret it that way, or he may have been speaking about the process of discrimination, that you know in an objective sense what you are not. What you are is, as the Upanishad says, the unknown Knower of all that is known. Q.: Which is nonobjective can only be known through experience. Another Q.: I need to become single minded in the pursuit. Gita also says, “Make the realization of the Self as the supreme goal.” and “if you’re not able to do that, at least do work for God’s sake. It is ignorance that is I feel this world is here and this ego has hold of me. The goal is to remove the individual; that is the real goal. Gita says, “Be steadfast.” I just want to hear something. N.: You know the direction in which to go, to be steadfast. The ego does not have a goal. The ego is an illusion, like the rope snake. The snake does not have a goal. The snake does not actually do anything, because it is only really a rope, and there is no snake there at all. Speaking of the manifested, you can say the world has a purpose. The instruments of body and mind may have a purpose. But the ego is merely the delusive notion that wrongly connects the true Self with the in-
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struments of the body and the mind and the senses, that wrongly assumes it is in the world, when really the entire world is only in the Self. It is only a wrong notion, and it does not have a purpose. It can be said, though, that your purpose is to dissolve, or utterly destroy, the ego notion, so to abide in That, as That itself. What is necessary is to make Self-Realization the goal. It is the goal, and “make” means to recognize that it is, indeed, the fact. If anything else is achieved, but Self-Realization is not found, tatah kim, so what? If you do anything else, in the end it will not amount to much. Self-Realization is the essence, is the purpose; It is the fulfillment. This Realization is not far away. Steadfastness is necessary in order to eradicate the illusion, which is ignorance. The Self is not at a distance. If you one-pointedly pursue the Realization of the Self, you will find the path is so wide that you cannot fall off. If that is what you love with all your heart and you devote yourself to it, you will be absorbed by That. Q.: I need to hold to it. N.: If you adhere to it, it will adhere to you. Q.: The key is to know that happiness is from there. N.: Yes, that is key. If we know where happiness has its source, if we know what the true cause or nature of happiness is, we will unfailingly devote ourselves to the realization of the Absolute, the Self, because the Self is happiness. If we speak of it as a source, it is the source of happiness. Nothing else is so. When you know something determines your happiness, you become very keen about it. Always, you have been searching for this happiness. Now that you know where it is found, why go anywhere else? Once you have found the jewel can answer all your wishes, that is all-fulfilling, why would you go hunting for pebbles? Only a person who does not understand the value of that gem will pick up other pebbles and toss the gem aside. To correct his approach, all that he needs to do is to recognize the gem as the gem; to recognize the source of happiness as, indeed, the source. Recognizing the source of happiness within, and within is the Self, you become easily detached from everything else. With detachment in relation to everything else, what would distract you? Even if your senses and your body have to be attentive to various things, they will offer no dis-
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traction; there is nothing alluring in it. Knowing the source of happiness, knowing what is truly real, the activities are performed without attachment, just as is stated in the Gita. Then, you do not lose the spirit of Yoga, that is union, with That, even in the midst of activities. Q.: I need to discriminate that happiness is within. To some extent, I know happiness doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t come from outer things or what would be the situation. In one book, it says that, in deep sleep, we experience a peace. That same peace has to come whatever be the situation. Right now, this Existence is there. It is unattached, and there is superimposition.
instruction does not mean to fall asleep at various points in the day, but to remain without the superimposition, identified only with that peaceful Existence and not take on wrong identity. In deep sleep, you have no idea of happiness being external to you. What is intuited as you fall asleep should be recognized in full Knowledge, always. Happiness is within; it is not determined by anything else. (Then followed a recitation in Sanskrit and English of verses from Adhyatma Upanishad.) (Silence) Om Shanti Shanti Shanti Om \
N.: In deep sleep, you experience the same Existence, or Self, without the superimposition. The
Ashtavakra Gita, trans. by Hari Prasad Shastri, Shanti Sadan, 1961 Janaka said: I am the limitless ocean in which, on the rising of the wind of the mind, the worlds are produced, as waves on the sea. 2:23 When the wind of the mind has died away in the ocean of my Being, then the ship of the universe perishes, together with its trader, the jiva. 2:24 How strange that in Me, the limitless ocean, the individualized selves, arise as waves. They cross each other, play for a while, and disappear according to their respective natures. 2:25 In Me who am like an infinite sea, the boat of the world is driven here and there by the wind of its own nature. I remain unaffected. 7:1 I am the boundless sea, let the waves of the world rise and fall in It. I am neither increased nor diminished thereby. 7:2 In Me, the infinite ocean, arises the imagined universe. Tranquil and attributeless my Self abides forever. 7:3
Ashtavakra said: Salutations to That which is Bliss, Peace and Light, with the dawning of the Knowledge of which, all delusion as to the phenomenal Universe passes away like a dream. 18:1 R e f l e cti on s \
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From The Ramana Way The following articles appear in the September 2000 issue of “The Ramana Way,” a monthly publication produced by the Ramana Maharshi Center for Learning in Bangalore, India. RMCL has been producing monthly publications entirely devoted to Sri Ramana and His teaching since the early 1980’s. Sri A.R. Natarajan dedicated his life and his family’s life to the cause of Bhagavan Ramana. Sri A.R. Natarajan was absorbed in the lotus feet of His Master in 2007. His daughter, Dr. Sarada Natarajan, continues in his legacy, keeping the Ramana Maharshi Centre for Learning and “The Ramana Way” alive for all Ramana devotees. May the devotion and wisdom from which these articles are written “jump” off the pages and into your heart. Please visit them at: www.ramanacentre.com
Someday I’ll love you Soft as the only cloud in the sky Not true, no words can tell Just how Someday I’ll love you Only as love can love
Someday I’ll love you By Dr. Sarada Natarajan We look forward to the day when our love for the Sadguru, for our best beloved, will be so full that we will be lost in it. It is a blissful losing of ourselves we are convinced, and we do pray in right earnest that we may become food unto him. Just imagine the day when we would open our eyes and feel his pulsating presence everywhere! The blue sky would be a lovelier, clearer blue. The soft white clouds would be a purer, sweeter white. The green on the trees would dance with the rays of sunlight, both of them enjoying themselves and making merry. The heat would not matter because it is he; the cold would not matter because it is he; the rains would bring laughter because they are he. Tears would brim from the eyes at the very mention of his name, tears that are just the expression of the heart melting and disappearing into an overwhelming silence. Laughter, too, would gurgle naturally at the slightest excuse and spread and grow as the mighty river of love enveloping all in its sweep, because we love him, our Sadguru, our best beloved Ramana. Surely someday this will happen. Someday we’ll love him true.
Someday we’ll become Selfaware. It’s obvious. When we love Bhagavan so fully, so totally, that we ourselves are not, what remains? He. And who is he? He is awareness, existence, bliss. He is the Self shining as the heart in every heart. For the heart being everywhere shines everywhere. And the heart being everywhere is known as the heart by each one within themselves. Whereupon, the within and the without disappear without a trace. And so he shines, our Ramana, as the heart which is within and without and neither within nor without, being ever here, hence everywhere. Someday, we will remain aware of this expanse that knows no beginning and no end. This awareness will dissolve all differences in us, being itself the same everywhere. Rather, there being no “other,” from the awareness, there would be nothing that could possibly be different. It is not that we would cease to see red from green or night from day. It is that through the red and greens, through the nights and days, an undefinable supreme joy would prevail as the basis of all that comes and goes. No “other” yet boundless joy. No “other” yet tears of love.
Someday I’ll love you Only as love can love Someday I’ll love you Bright as the first star on high
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To be free from pain and decay, to be untouched by the vagaries of the body and ever remain blissful. Is this not the state which many try to simulate through drinks and drugs? They even apparently float in bliss awhile. Unfortunately, though, their experiences do not last. They return to the everyday world with greater pain, multiplied misery, fear playing havoc with their minds, the mad longing to repeat the stimulation eating away at every shred of happiness, the body too being devastated. But a state of natural joy that is not induced, that is our very own and hence cannot be taken away, that does not fade, that springs ever fresh, ever full every moment. Surely, there would be some who like to dream of their “someday,” their purpose in life, their supreme goal, in this manner. Of course, it wouldn’t matter much whether the dream be of loving the Sadguru Ramana, as only love can love, or loving the Self, which is but He, and melting in it. It would make little difference whether one dreams of this love as manifesting itself, expressing itself in an abounding love for all beings, or simply remaining as itself, but still experienced automatically by all who come into its presence. It matters little because in essence there is no difference at all between the two. It matters less because all this for us is only a dream; it’s a fantasy about “someday.” This is not to say that it will never become reality. Oh! This dream will surely come true someday. It cannot but be so. Such is the hope that lights our lives. Such is the Sadguru’s promise. It cannot fail. Yet, when this “dream” is known as reality, then the dream will no longer matter for it will cease to be. And the dream does not matter now because it is not reality. This dream is not a bad one surely as dreams go. Far, far better is this dream that is based on faith and hope than the so called realism of one who says, “Not for me Self-Knowledge. I can never attain it in this birth or many to come.” At least this dream keeps the mind turned to the only worthwhile goal. It is the sweetest of dreams. Yet, sweet as this dream is, should we hang on to it if it is keeping us from reality? Should we not pause first a moment and ask ourselves, “Why are we dreaming of this love as dawning “someday” when the waking bliss is here and
Someday I’ll love you With no you no I. But laugher blooming, dancing Far and nigh. Someday I’ll love you Without both you and I But tender tears that Melt the heart and eyes. Not true, no words can tell Just how Someday I’ll love you, only as love can love. In the fullness of such love, we continue to dream, and all else would cease to be relevant. When one’s heart is full and ever brimming over, what else could matter? Surely, not what we wear or eat, surely not, as we noted, cold or heat. No, not even people and events. In the absence of the “other,” could there be any duty left to be done? Could there any longer be separation or union, longing or attaining? A marvelous detachment would prevail. Yet, mystery and magic, there would be abounding love for all, a love far, far beyond any that we now know, a love only like love. “For all?” A faceless, nameless, distinctionless “equality” as “equality” is often misunderstood to be? No, a love that is full yet specific at the same time, a love that responds to father as father, mother as mother and child as child. A love that loves the beloved as beloved, friend as friend. A love that respects the boss and orders the subordinate. A love that changes nothing yet transforms everything that comes into contact with it. And would there be indifference towards work? No, it would be perfect attention to every detail, clarity about the overall concept. All this not by willing it to be so but just by the very nature of love that is simply love. The picture changes as the fantasy kaleidoscope moves a little. Maybe it will be different, this love that is love. Perhaps, one will simply remain drowned in that bliss, not really knowing green from red and night from day. Perhaps, one will forget to eat and sleep, to bathe, totally or almost fully unaware of the body and its needs. This seems quite a wonderful prospect, too. Especially, as one grows older and is nagged by the ups and downs, downs rather than ups, of the aging body, how welcome this relief must seem.
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only hoping to run into him. Each time we cry, we only cry for him. We do not know, but he knows, and he waits. He waits because we are not ready for him. But should we wait? Should we put away the fullness that is already now, now, now? Can we not throw every care away? Can we not let caution fly away? What does anything matter? Our duties undone? Our paths all half-trodden? Some little trophies to be won? The ignorant clinging of dear ones? Will not everything find fulfillment in love’s infinite kingdom? Why must we dream on when waking is boundless fun? Why court darkness in the very light of the sun? Why rest in the lap of love and then run away somehow? Why keep professing, “Someday I’ll love you, only as love can love”? Can we not simply catch hold of ourselves, give ourselves a good shaking and say “Enough of all this pretense?” Can we not beg of beloved Ramana in the very words he has taught us, asking him to “reveal his beauty” so that the mind may cease its endless wanderings? Can we not turn to him will all our heart and cry,
how?” Is it because, for all our apparent love of that love, we love our little loves more? Are we afraid, obviously or deep down, of losing all the relationships that we cherish? Do we not really believe that every one of these will grow a thousand fold more fragrant? Are we afraid that our little trinkets may be snatched from us? Perhaps, we do not really want to trade in these for the boundless treasure. Perhaps, we don’t quite trust the Sadguru’s words or even what his life reveals in its every moment that the bliss of the Self is boundless, that the greatest joys we could have known or hope to know are mere ripples in that infinite ocean. Or, is it because of the very fact that this bounty is ever available that we care not for it? After all, what is the hurry to taste now that which can be tasted tomorrow or the day after, that which will remain ever sweet, will not decay or even be taken away? And our beloved, our Sadguru Ramana, waits for us with the infinite patience of love. He never forces the pace, he allows us all our little, meaningless distractions. Do we take his love for granted, too? Do we tarry before giving ourselves wholly to him because he never grudges our unfaithfulness, because he simply cannot, because he loves ever as love itself?
Time and again I promise, And I mean it, too, you know, Someday I’ll love you Only as love can love Yet, best beloved, wait not For me to fulfill my vow Perform your magic Make that day right now.
While you let me be A vagabond carefree Pursuing every fantasy Grabbing all I see Acting plain greedy Caught in many loves puny Do you still wait for me To recognize love’s bounty so that Someday I’ll love you Only as love can love?
Psst: And having prayed and having cried could we laugh at ourselves, too, for our predicament that is quite as comic as it is tragic? Could we laugh at ourselves for having successfully found one more reason to stay away in all the time spent on our tears of despair? And having cried and having laughed, could we just be, only as love is?
Yes, he waits because for him, there is no dream, no waking, no separation, and no union. Indeed, he does not even “wait,” for there is no goal. He love that is love, which alone is love, is. Yet, again, because it is, the love waits. Sure, he waits, because of his love. Sure, he waits because he is aware, too, with the wisdom that is love that we cannot help loving him either. Our every longing, our every desire, is only a yearning for him. Each time we run away, we are
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The Zest for Life By A.R. Natarajan Let us look at the ordinary human motivations. To have plenty of wealth, power, position, name and fame and generally to enjoy the good things of life. We think we are the architects of our own fate, that the results flow from our hard labor, and, of course, bursting intelligence. All credit for success is attributable to this personal effort. As for failures, they are not due to one’s fault, but because of a conspiracy of circumstances, due to them being done in the eye of jealousies and squabbles of others. Yet, everything is transient, fleeting. What is the big deal in any transient thing, what is the use of something that is not lasting? Wealth comes and goes. Suddenly, fortunes are made and lost in the stock market, in speculative deals, and so on. The goddess of wealth is quite fickle it seems. And what a price one has to pay in the terms of tensions, blood pressure, heart attacks, to hold on to power, given the fact that a host of persons are waiting in line greedy for the gaddi, for the seat of power. As for the sweet allurement of being lionized as an epitome of virtues, one’s reputation might crash without notice. Suddenly, skeletons are unearthed from the cupboard and many a hero’s image is tarnished in an atmosphere of doubt and suspicion, like what one reads constantly nowadays about match fixing in cricket and other games. One hardly goes into the truth of an allegation for the very people who so readily accepted the adulation are quick to believe every gossip, every falsehood. All that is needed is to print or video the blasphemy. Then, we have the pleasure seekers who have to pay the toll in quick time through ill health. Motivation also gets punctured when I pride myself as the architect of my successes, and I am told that the ordainer alone is responsible for success and failures and that one is merely an instrument in His hands. This, indeed, is a hard pill to swallow, for it cuts at the very root of one’s present motivation to work. One may feel “What does it matter if the work is sloppy, if the approach to work is lazy or indolent? If I have no real part to play, why get so involved, as if my whole life depended on it?”
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Perhaps, one may not be far too wrong if, for these various reasons, one notices a gradual dilution of zest for work among spiritual seekers. The lure of the worldly attractions has been reasoned out of existence. When everything is clothed with transience, including life itself, every pursuit seems so futile. At the same time, a mind given thus far to the ways of the world cannot switch over to the new and fundamental changes of approach to work and attitude to life. Yet, unless new motivations are introduced into one’s value system, boredom, listlessness, half-hearted efforts, take the place of top-gear working schedules. Therefore, it is time that each seeker finds the right motivations to be restored to vigorous involvement in whatever work one has been allotted in God’s scheme of things. In this context one can usefully refer to a couple of verses in Ramana’s Supplement to Forty Verses, which act as a tonic, restoring zest for enjoying the work on hand. These two verse are extracted below: “Having investigated the various states of being, and seizing firmly by the mind that State of Supreme Reality, play your part, O hero, ever in the world. You have known the Truth which is at the heart of all kinds of appearances. Without ever turning away from that Reality, play in the world, O hero, as if in love with it.” “Seeming to have enthusiasm and delight, seeming to have excitement and aversion, seeming to exercise initiative and perseverance, and yet without attachment, play, O hero, in the world. Released from all bonds of attachment and with
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equanimity of mind, acting outwardly in all situations in accordance with the part you have assumed, play as you please, O hero, in the world.” This salutary advice helps in building a sense of detachment which comes from remembering that, in the great cosmic play, you have been given a role, which you can enjoy by acting it realistically, but without identification with the role enacted. This is the kind of expertise which all great actors of drama, T.V., or cinema have. This frees one from pressures and tensions of a hectic life of action. Another important input to restore zest for life is to give oneself to the work, treating it alone as important, by itself. This needs a complete change in orientation. Result fixation as motivation for work has to be replaced by an outlook that values the work itself unmindful of the results. Presently, the see-saw of the ups and downs of fortune acts as a damper or a source of encouragement. So, the intrinsic worth of the work itself has receded to the background. But doing work with total attention would bring a new dimension to it. Giving it all care would make a world of difference. This was the way Ramana would handle work, be it
proof reading, writing verses in the diaries of the devotees, attending to the kitchen jobs, supervising ashram constructions, answering questions, and replying to the mail. The beaming joy of his face at all these times would be infectious. Those joining him in these tasks would be drawn into the work with the same degree of enthusiasm. For them, it would be a practical lesson in Vedanta, in the pursuit of the Ramana Way. Work would be viewed with new eyes, as a welcome fulfilment. Even more crucial is learning to open up the doors of inherent joy. For this, of course, one has to have faith in Ramana’s assurance that the “result of self-enquiry is the cure for all sorrows. It is the highest of all results. There is nothing greater than this.” The reason for these superlatives if found in the fact that self-enquiry initially helps one to be freed from the thought movement, and to be sensitive to the dance of the “I-I” in the heart. It alone enables the merging of the mind with its source. Then, one holds on to Reality. Inherent happiness remains as the undercurrent, and there is great zest for life. \
Humility Kabir, become a pebble of the path, Banish all pride from your heart; He who becomes such a slave [humble devotee] Meets the Lord. Kabir, what if one does become a pebble— It could hurt the traveler’s feet; The Lord’s slave [servant] should rather be Like dust on the earth. Kabir, what if one does become dust— Dust rises and clings to people; The devotee should rather be like water Which takes the shape of the pot it fills. Kabir, what if one does become water— Water becomes hot, water becomes cold; The Lord’s lover should rather be As the Lord Himself Is. –Kabir, The Weaver of God’s Name
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from the
Rig Veda Samhita
Surely let the unopened divine doors also open today to perform Yagnya to encourage truth. First mandala, sookta 13, verse 128 O God Vanaspati! Create offerings for gods with which the awareness of the giver is enhanced. 1:13:133 Without whom even the Yagnya of a scholar does not succeed, that Sadasaspati encourages the use of intelligence. 1:18:183 This god Sadasaspati makes the preparator of the offering in Yagnya prosperous and the Yagnya without violence progresses, after that. May our hymns go to the god. 1:18:184 I saw Agni, illuminated as Soorya in the heaven, worshiped in the house, famous, powerful and praised by men. 1:18:185 O Indra and Agni! Wake fully by that truthful action. Give happiness to us in the place of much awareness. 1:21:208 May the wives of the gods, having unobstructed mobility, the guardians of men, be pleased to come before us with protection. 1:22:219 Vishnu placed the step three times; this universe had hidden in his dusty feet; he performed this bravery. 1:22:225 And then the undefeated protector Vishnu, fulfilling all duties, performed the act of bravery with three steps. 1:22:226 O performers of Yagnya! You all observe the accomplishments of Vishnu. I learnt the austere disciplines by this. Vishnu is the friend and associate of Indra. 1:22:227 â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Rig Veda Samhita, trans. by Prasanna Chandra Gautam, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai R e f l e cti on s \
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Ever Yours in Truth Correspondence between Nome and seekers. (Names of seekers are ommitted to preserve their privacy.)
[A seeker wrote that he was afflicted by tinnitus. Here is the reply.] May 9, 2017 Dear
,
Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya Namaste. Deep inquiry reveals to you that you are not the body and not in a body. The body is involved in sensations, such as sound, not the Self. Become firmly established in the Knowledge of your true identity and find yourself free of the suffering caused by misidentification. Surrender is always to God. Both surrender (devotion) and inquiry yield the same peaceful detachment. If you are interested, there may be nutritional and herbal remedies that can treat tinnitus. Searching the web may show you what is available. May you abide in the silence of Being, unborn and imperishable, unmoving and undecaying, free and at peace. Om Namah Sivaya Ever yours in Truth, Nome [A seeker in India described how his heartbeats distracted him from the divine silence. He was repeating mantras, which yielded only a temporary quieting of the beats, and desired guidance. Here is the response.]
Om Namah Sivaya Ever yours in Truth, Nome [A reply to the same seeker two days later] March 14, 2017 Dear
,
Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya Namaste. The answer to your question, and more, is contained in the previous reply to you. Perhaps, you would find it helpful to read it again and deeply consider its meaning. Spiritual instruction is best absorbed by the seekerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s abandonment of his currently conceived perspective, rooted in misidentification, and actually inquiring, which inwardly verifies the instruction and reveals Self-Knowledge. Om Namah Sivaya Ever yours in Truth, Nome
March 12, 2017 Dear
and are known. What is the nature of the knower? Consciousness is ever fully existent and self-luminous. Nothing affects or interferes with it. The heartbeats are felt or heard. Who is the knower thereof? That, of the nature of ExistenceConsciousness, is the eternal silence. It abides before the heart beats, during the heartbeats, and long after the heartbeats have ceased. Therefore, inquire to know your true identity, which is the Self, and you will remain undisturbed. In this way, that which seems to be an interference or obstacle becomes a help to your sadhana, and you abide free, happy, and at peace.
, [The reply to another seeker.]
Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya Namaste. Thank you for your message. Distraction and concentration are of the mind
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Dear
,
Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya Namaste. The Knowledge of the Self revealed to be the sole-existent reality by profound inquiry eliminates the assumed “I” and all of the misidentifications based upon it. Being-Consciousness-Bliss remains. The ardent desire to abide in That, as That, yields that which is essential for freedom and peace. Om Namah Sivaya Ever yours in Truth, Nome [On March 18, the seeker who had previously written about heartbeats wrote again.] Om Sri Nome Namaskar I am having an inner feeling that it is Bhagawan who is answering my queries via your media. I personally find no distinction between you and Sri Bhagawan. Therefore, I get fully absorbed on watching and hearing your satsang videos on youtube. I wish I could visit SAT and have an opportunity to place my head at your divine feet. Please guide if it is possible to visit Sat centre. Yours in Divine love, [Here is the response.] Dear
,
Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya Namaste. Thank you for your messages. Of course, if you are able to travel to California and visit the SAT Temple, you will be very welcome. Sri Bhagavan says (Origin of Spiritual Instruction, Upadesa Manjari) that upadesa consists in the return of the mind, which has apparently wandered away from the Self into delusion, to its true and proper place, which is the Self. Furthermore, it is the revelation of the truth that that which one has been regarding as distant, or different, from himself, Brahman, is really immediate and identical with oneself.
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What could be more basic than your existence? Existence, itself, is silence. By deep inquiry, realize the nature of this Existence. It underlies all experiences and is not bound by any of them. It is the substrate of all illusions, untouched by any, and is itself real. It is the illuminator of the mind and senses and is ungraspable by them. Changeless, undivided, infinite, eternal, bodiless, and immortal, it is ever perfectly full. That is Brahman. That is the Self. That alone is what you are. Listen (and read), reflect, deeply meditate, and be absorbed. You need not worry about the heartbeats. They are only a transient illusion appearing in the waking state of mind. Be at peace by knowing yourself. If you earnestly attempt to practice what is said here and in the previous replies, your apparent difficulties will dissolve, and inner bliss will remain unconcealed. Om Namah Sivaya Ever yours in Truth, Nome [Here is the reply to a seeker’s question about the importance of vegetarian diet the teachings of Advaita Vedanta.] April 8, 2017 Dear
,
Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya Namaste. As you may know, Sri Bhagavan and many other sages recommend sattvic vegetarian diet for spiritual seekers, inclusive of those who adhere to the teachings of Advaita Vedanta. The reasons for such are multiple. To acquire an understanding of them, you may wish to read the sections of “Ever Yours in Truth" that explain them, which were written in response to others who asked the same question as you have. You may find it easy to find these explanations by using the index (diet, vegetarian) of that book. After “digesting" these explanations, then you can decide its importance, etc. for you. Om Namah Sivaya Ever yours in Truth, Nome
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[The pithy reply to a seeker’s questions.] April 24, 2017 Dear
,
Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya Namaste. Discrimination combined with perseverance yields the absence of confusion. The Self is Existence. For whom is the avarana? The source of bliss, and its nature, is only one. If, by inquiry, the nature of the mind is known, it loses its form, and illusion vanishes. That which you are forever is alone what you are even now. Grace is ever present, leading you from darkness to light. Om Namah Sivaya Ever yours in Truth, Nome [Here is the reply to a seeker in Brazil whose questions can be inferred from the answers.]
,
Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya Namaste. Are not all of the vasanas mentioned by you (frustration etc.) based upon misidentification? The Self, which is Brahman alone, certainly does not have them. Who does? Since they are ignorance, it would not be wise to “let them perform.” They are not self-existent, so their appearance must be conjured up and adhered to by you; yet this “you” is of a definition that is different than the Self as the Self truly is, just That. There are not two of you. So, for whom is this delusion of the tendencies? Such inquiry completely destroys the manifestation of the vasanas, the illusion that vasanas exist, and the false assumption of an ego, which is the primal cause of all vasanas and which appears to be bound in such. The tendencies mentioned by you are resolved by the discernment with certainty of the source and nature of happiness. Realization, thorough and deep, that the Self is not the body eliminates the idea of being a performer of action.
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Om Namah Sivaya Ever yours in Truth, Nome [A seeker asked if, in Sri Ramana’s teaching, in the beginning before creation, God did not know that He was God, an idea that he attributed to Meher Baba. As usual, Nome did not comment on any other teacher but simply revealed the truth and glorified Sri Bhagavan, his teaching, and his grace.] May 20, 2017 Dear
May 5, 2017 Dear
Liberation is not freedom of the individual, as if it were license for the instruments of action to do whatever the mind imagines is pleasing, but rather freedom from the imaginary individual, which is abidance as Being-Consciousness-Bliss. Thus in Bhagavan’s Anubandha (Supplement to the 40 verses), verse 39, as declared earlier by Adi Sankaracarya, “Retain at heart always the sense of nonduality but never express it in action.” You are always free to know the Self that you truly always are.
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Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya Namaste. Thank you for your message. Sri Bhagavan reveals the truth of the Self, which is of the nature of Being-Consciousness-Bliss, which is infinite, eternal, and self-luminous, which is timeless, which is realized in Self-Knowledge (God’s Knowledge of God), which is always changeless, which is devoid of the illusory triadic differentiation of jagat-jiva-para (the world—the individual—the Supreme), and which is without a beginning and without end. Graced with the teachings of Sri Ramana, may you inquire deeply, so that you know the Reality transcendent of mental conception, and thus ever abide in happiness and peace. Om Namah Sivaya Ever yours in Truth, Nome
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Flickerless Flame in Windless Space In the silence of the woods and solitary caves of the mountains Did one sit to plunge within and behold the flickerless flame—I am Wind from all sides raged with fury to blow out the flame All the doors of perception were shut, Flickerless was held the flame “I am” in the windless inner space, Years vanished in a twinkle, for timelessness was its light! Perception plumbed its own bosom, Mind swallowed its own self, The self dived back to its womb And the phantom was lost in the fathomless deeps Where he gained eternal life by death!
The Path of Light Dear! See not the scene, learn to see the seeing; Through “innering” enter the stream of “seeing;” The path of light behind the eyes, the devayana The light with which the senses are made And swim in the waters of effulgence back to the inner Sun, Glide back to the source, the Seer, and abide there. That is the blessed terminus of the inner-path. There alone is auspiciousness, peace and immortality!
– Excerpts from the book, Swatmasukhi, (Bliss of the Self), by Sri Ramanacharanatirtha Nochur Venkataraman, published by Sri Ramanasramam, 2016
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Temple Bulletin A new addition to the Sri Sadisvara Mandiram . . . Sri Chakra Yantra is rich in meaning. To say that this Chakra is merely the mother goddess (Sarada) of the material body would be overly simplistic. Prof. S.K. Ramachandra Rao of the Kalpatharu Research Academy in Bangalore, India states in his book, The Tantrik Practices of Sri Vidya, pub. 1990, “Sri-Chakra has rightly been regarded as the ‘prince’ among chakras. It is the best known and most worshipped among hundreds of sacred designs that are prescribed in the traditional lore. Despite this celebrity, an air of mystery surrounds this chakra. It is even classed among things, “the Knowledge of which should not be made readily available.” This painting was created and offered by Anandhi.
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Devotees create a new Temple Garden outside the Satsang Hall.
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Annaprashan for Shashwati was held on June 3rd. Follow the link below for more on this event: https://satramana.wordpress.com/2017/06/10/annaprashan-for-shashwati/
Devotees create a playbox for the children.
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Left: Dhanya paints beautiful cloth art. Here she has painted Minakshi.
Right: Anandhi moves closer to fulfilling her offering to the Temple of the Vasistha mural.
Left: Devotees expand parking in the SAT parking lot to accomodate devotees.
Below: Devotees make puri for prasadam.
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Upcoming Special Events at the SAT Temple Guru Purnima: July 8, 2017 Sri Ramana’s Self-Realization: July 17, 2017 Krishna Janmastami: August 14, 2017 Ramana Maharshi Self-Realization Retreat: August 18-20, 2017 Ganesh Chaturthi: August 25, 2017 Sri Ramana’s Arrival at Arunachala: September 1, 2017 Navaratri (Vijayadasami): September 28, 2017
https://satramana.org https://www.facebook.com/SATTemple
Many satsangs and special events are available to view on YouTube at: https://www.youtube.com/satramana
Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya Om Namah Sivaya Many of the background images used in Reflections are from: Pixabay.com
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SAT Retreats 2017 This year, SAT will offer four retreats to assist spiritual seekers in their quest for Self-Realization. SAT retreats are wonderful opportunities for spiritual experience and practice and are perfect for all seekers of nondual Self-Knowledge. In SAT retreats, Self-Knowledge and Self-inquiry meditation, the means of inquiring within to know the true Self, are taught, with ample time to ask questions as the teachings are given, so that you can clarify and deepen your understanding and experience. SAT retreats are very thorough in their presentation and provide a tremendous amount of spiritual guidance. The experience of attending retreats is profound and very helpful for spiritual development. All of SAT’s retreats are taught by Nome, a sage who practiced the inquiry for steady abidance in Self-Realization. He places no emphasis on himself, but keeps the focus of the instruction entirely upon Self-Knowledge and Self-inquiry, turning the aspirants’ attention fully inward, for it is in this way that meditation, Self-inquiry, and Self-Knowledge truly open for one. Recommended readings for the retreats are the works of Sri Ramana Maharshi, Ribhu Gita and The Song of Ribhu, Self-Knowledge, the writings of Sankara (Adi Sankara), such as those contained in Svatmanirupanam and Advaita Prakarana Manjari, Avadhuta Gita, Ashtavakra Gita, Saddarshanam and an Inquiry into the Revelation of Truth and Oneself, The Essence of Spiritual Instruction, and The Quintessence of True Being. Familiarizing yourself with or studying these books will enable you to obtain even more from the retreats, which are an experiential immersion in the essence of Advaita Vedanta. All of these books and similar nondualistic literature are available from SAT. Vegetarian meals are provided during the retreats. During retreats, lunch and dinner are served on Friday, three meals are served on Saturday, and two meals are served on Sunday. SAT does not provide special meals for those with unique dietary concerns.
Sri Ramana Self-Realization Retreat August 18 – August 20, Friday morning through Sunday afternoon The date of September 1st is when Sri Ramana Maharshi arrived at Arunachala, steadily abiding in and as the Self, where he would henceforth reveal the highest Nondual Truth with teachings of Self-Knowledge, showing the primary means of the path of Knowledge – Self-inquiry. This retreat, which precedes the celebration of that holy day, focuses on the Maharshi’s teachings contained within Atma Vidya, Ekatma Pancakam, and other short texts, with spiritual instruction about these teachings, and much time for silent meditation. This retreat is an immersion in the fusion of Knowledge and devotion. R e f l e cti on s \
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The Truth Revealed Retreat November 10 - November 12, Friday morning through Sunday afternoon This retreat is focused on nondual Self-Knowledge as revealed by Sri Ramana Maharshi and consists of an in-depth explanation of the teachings contained in Sri Ramana Maharshiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Saddarshanam (i.e., Sat-Darshanam, Truth Revealed, Forty Verses on Reality). There is also much time for the participants to silently meditate upon this quintessential, profound, Blissful Knowledge for the revelation of the Truth within.
Online Retreat Registration Now Available! End of sign-up date for each retreat is one month prior to commencement of retreat. Please visit the link below to register for retreats at the SAT Temple: https://satramana.org/web/events/retreats/retreat-application-form/ Or, visit the SAT website at: satramana.org > Events > Retreats
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