Ninad

[Ramanajyothi @Searchof_WhoamI]

Arunachala is one of the oldest and most sacred of all India’s holy places.

Sri Bhagavan declared that it is the heart of the earth, the spiritual centre of the world.

Sri Shankara spoke of it as Mount Meru.

The Skanda Purana declares:
“That is the holy place. Of all, Arunachala is the most sacred. It is the heart of the world. Know it to be the secret and sacred Heart-centre of Siva.”

Many Saints have lived there, merging their sanctity with that of the hill. It is said, and confirmed by Sri Bhagavan, that to this day Siddhas (Sages with supernatural powers) dwell in its caves, whether with physical bodies or not, and some are said to have seen them as lights moving about the hill at night.

There is a puranic story about the origin of the hill. [Where] Siva thereupon manifested himself as a column of light. (see p.47 for the full account.)

[...] Because the lingam or column of light was too dazzling to behold, Siva manifested himself instead as the hill Arunachala, declaring:

“As the moon derives its light from the sun, so other holy places shall derive their sanctity from Arunachala. This is the only place where I have taken this form for the benefit of those who wish to worship me and obtain illumination. Arunachala is OM itself. I will appear on the summit of this hill every year at Kartikai in the form of a peace-giving beacon.”

This refers not only to the sanctity of Arunachala itself but also to the pre-eminence of the doctrine of Advaita and the path of Self-enquiry of which Arunachala is the centre.

One can understand this meaning in Sri Bhagavan’s saying, “In the end everyone must come to Arunachala.”
~~~
Chapter 6, Arunachala, in Ramana Maharshi and the Path of Self-Knowledge, by Arthur Osborne.

Namo Bhagavan Ramana 💐🙏

@nandhiji

[Ninad @NLV46]

@ankurwriter What is the prediction line for India for earthquake if so?

[Ramanajyothi @Searchof_WhoamI]

Simplicity:

If the word can produce an effect, judge for yourself, how much more powerful must be the preaching through silence! But people do not understand this simple, bare truth, the truth of their every day, ever-present, eternal experience. This truth is that of the Self. Is there anyone unaware of the Self? But they do not like even to hear of this truth, whereas they are eager to know what lies beyond, about heaven, hell, and reincarnation.

Because they love mystery and not the truth, religions cater to them so as eventually to bring them round to the Self. Whatever be the means adopted, you must at last return to the Self: so why not abide in the Self here and now? To be a spectator of, or to speculate about the other world, the Self is necessary; therefore, they are not different from the Self. Even the ignorant man, when he sees the objects, sees only the Self.
~~
Maharshi’s Gospel

@nandhiji

[RamanaEssence @RamanaEssence]

THE SELF ALONE SHINES

The Self is ever-shining as the one Reality. It is not something to be attained, created, or discovered as a new experience. It is the very Awareness by which all experiences are known. 🧵

[Nonduality | Advaita @Nondual_]

You are the only observer. If you understand this, everything is over.

Who is it that sees so many selves? One thought produces further thoughts. Who observes the first thought?. Only you are the observer of the first thought! If the knower of the very first thought is not there, who will observe the other thoughts?. If you understand this, everything is over. You can go!

~ Nisargadatta.

[Ramanajyothi @Searchof_WhoamI]

"A certain lady, who had a lot of devotion, performed a traditional ritual for worshipping sages whenever she came into Bhagavan’s presence to have darshan. She would prostrate to Bhagavan, touch his feet and then put the hands that had touched Bhagavan’s feet on her eyes.

After noticing that she did this daily, Bhagavan made the following remarks:

‘Only the Supreme Self, which is ever shining in your Heart as the reality, is the Sadguru. The pure awareness, which is shining as the inward illumination ‘I’, is his gracious feet.

The contact with these [inner holy feet] alone can give you true redemption. Joining the eye of reflected consciousness [chitabhasa], which is your sense of individuality [jiva bodha], to those holy feet, which are the real consciousness, is the union of the feet and the head that is the real significance of the word ‘asi’.

As these inner holy feet can be held naturally and unceasingly, hereafter, with an inward-turned mind, cling to that inner awareness that is your own real nature. This alone is the proper way for the removal of bondage and the attainment of the supreme truth.’

Invoking that lady devotee’s natural experience, Bhagavan revealed the true meaning of the gracious feet that unite the jiva with Brahman. Mature ones should attach themselves to these feet.

–Sri Ramana Darsanam
Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi 💐🙏

#At_the_lotus_feet_of_Guru

@DrSurendra_12 @suganshank2
@DrDeVinderSingh

[RamanaEssence @RamanaEssence]

SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI ON GURU’S GRACE

Q: In actual practice I find I am not able to succeed in my efforts. Unless Bhagavan’s grace descends on me I cannot succeed.

~ Ramana Maharshi:
Guru’s grace is always there. You imagine it is something, somewhere high up in the sky, far away, and has to descend.

It is really inside you, in your heart, and the moment (by any of the methods) you effect subsidence or merger of the mind into its source, the grace rushes forth, spouting as from a spring, from within you.

Day by Day with Bhagavan

[Ramanajyothi @Searchof_WhoamI]

Santosham:

Santosham was a word used often by Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi. In fact just before he dropped his body Bhagavan looked to his assistant and uttered just one word, “Santosham”.

Santosham translates to Happiness. The meaning could be extended to include Contentment or to Feeling Complete.

Many years ago, as a child, I heard Swami Chinmayananda say something that stuck in my head. It was at his very first public talk in Mumbai, at the Indian Gymkhana in Matunga. He said, “Unhappiness is Desires divided by Desires Fulfilled.’ Basically he meant that, unless you understood the game, the gap would never be filled. By implication it meant that the gap would ensure there was no santosham.

It automatically follows that with true santosham there are no expectations about the future, no clinging desires in the present and no complaints about the past. In other words, total acceptance of What Is. And that according to most Masters is the surest sign of total understanding. A sign of ‘purnatah’ (completeness).

With santosham one lives one’s life with easy spontaneity… in what science would aptly describe as “dynamic equilibrium”.
~~
A Himalayan Yogi

@DeviRudrani
@SrimanNarayena

[RamanaEssence @RamanaEssence]

Sri Ramana Maharshi reveals how to conquer destiny.

Q: If what is destined to happen will happen, is there any use in prayer or effort or should we just remain idle?

~ Ramana Maharshi:
There are only two ways to conquer destiny or be independent of it.

One is to enquire for whom is this destiny and discover that only the ego is bound by destiny and not the Self, and that the ego is non-existent.

The other way is to kill the ego by completely surrendering to the Lord, by realizing one’s helplessness and saying all the time, ‘Not I but thou, O Lord’, giving up all sense of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ and leaving it to the Lord to do what he likes with you. Surrender can never be regarded as complete so long as the devotee wants this or that from the Lord. True surrender is love of God for the sake of love and nothing else, not even for the sake of liberation.

In other words, complete effacement of the ego is necessary to conquer destiny, whether you achieve this effacement through self-enquiry or through bhakti marga.

Be As You Are

[Ramanajyothi @Searchof_WhoamI]

Oh thou divine Shankara,
Thou art the Subject,
That has knowledge
Of subject and object.
Let the subject in me be destroyed
As subject and object.
For this in my mind arises
The light as the single Shiva.
~~
Sri Ramana Maharshi

@davidfrawleyved @suganshank2
@viryavaan @ASuthaveeran
@bharatha_desam

[RamanaEssence @RamanaEssence]

Q: Is it enough if I spend some time in the mornings and some time in the evenings for this atma-vichara? Or should I do it always - say, even when I am writing or walking?

~ Ramana Maharshi:
Now what is your real nature? Is it writing, walking, or being? The one unalterable reality is Being.

Until you realize that state of pure being you should pursue the enquiry. If once you are established in it there will be no further worry.

No one will enquire into the source of thoughts unless thoughts arise. So long as you think “I am walking,” “I am writing,” enquire who does it.

These actions will however go on when one is firmly established in the Self. Does a man say, “I am a man, I am a man, I am a man,” every moment of his life? He does not say so and yet all his actions are going on.

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi

[RamanaEssence @RamanaEssence]

Sri Ramana Maharshi on devotion:

Q: I long for bhakti. I want more of this longing. Even realization does not matter for me. Let me be strong in my longing.

~ Ramana Maharshi:
If the longing is there, realization will be forced on you even if you do not want it. Long for it intensely so that the mind melts in devotion.

After camphor burns away no residue is left. The mind is the camphor. When it has resolved itself into the Self without leaving even the slightest trace behind, it is realization of the Self.

Be As You Are

[Nisargadatta Maharaj @Nisargadatta_M]

What the mind invents, the mind destroys. But the real is not invented and cannot be destroyed. Hold on to that over which the mind has no power.

[Ramanajyothi @Searchof_WhoamI]

IT IS EASY IF YOU ARE EARNEST- AND QUITE IMPOSSIBLE IF YOU ARE NOT ...

M: You are never without a Guru, for he is timelessly present in your heart. Sometimes he externalizes himself and comes to you as an uplifting and reforming factor in your life, a mother, a wife, a teacher; or he remains as an inner urge toward righteousness and perfection. All you have to do is obey him and do what he tells you. What he wants you to do is simple, learn self-awareness, self-control, self-surrender.

It may seem arduous, but it is easy if you are earnest. And quite impossible if you are not. Earnestness is both necessary and sufficient. Everything yields to earnestness.
~~
Nisargadatta Maharaj, I AM THAT ch. 84

@anandsblisss

[RamanaEssence @RamanaEssence]

The Essence of Happiness according to Sri Ramana Maharshi:

Happiness is the very nature of the Self; happiness and the Self are not different. There is no happiness in any object of the world. We imagine through our ignorance that we derive happiness from objects. When the mind goes out, it experiences misery. In truth, when its desires are fulfilled, it returns to its own place and enjoys the happiness that is the Self.

Similarly in the states of sleep, samadhi and fainting, and when the object desired is obtained or the object disliked is removed, the mind becomes inward- turned, and enjoys pure Self-Happiness.

Thus the mind moves without rest alternately going out of the Self and returning to it. Under the tree the shade is pleasant; out in the open the heat is scorching. A person who has been going about in the sun feels cool when he reaches the shade.

Someone who keeps on going from the shade into the sun and then back into the shade is a fool. A wise man stays permanently in the shade.

Similarly, the mind of the one who knows the truth does not leave Brahman. The mind of the ignorant, on the contrary, revolves in the world, feeling miserable, and for a little time returns to Brahman to experience happiness. In fact, what is called the world is only a thought. When the world disappears, i.e., when there is no thought, the mind experiences happiness; and when the world appears, it goes through misery.

Who Am I?
The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi

[Ramanajyothi @Searchof_WhoamI]

SPIRITUAL STORIES
AS TOLD BY
RAMANA MAHARSHI

Parvati’s Test:

Sri Bhagavan was looking into the Siva Purana and related, “Siva has the transcendental and immanent aspects as represented by His invisible, transcendental being and the linga aspect respectively. The linga, manifested as Arunachala originally, stands even to this day.

“In the sphere of speech, Pranava (the mystic sound AUM) represents the transcendental (nirguna), and the Panchakshari (the five-syllabled mantra), represents the immanent aspect (saguna).”

To illustrate this Sri Bhagavan recounted the anecdote of Parvati testing Rama.

RAMA AND LAKSHMANA were wandering in the forest in search of Sita. Rama was grief-stricken. Just then Siva and Parvati happened to pass close-by. Siva saluted Rama and passed on. Parvati was surprised and asked Siva to explain why He, the Lord of the Universe, being worshipped by all, should stoop to salute Rama, an ordinary human who, having missed his consort, was grief-stricken and moving in anguish in the wilderness looking helpless.

Shiva then said, “Rama is simply acting as a human being would under the circumstances. He is nevertheless the incarnation of Vishnu and deserves to be saluted. You may test him if you choose.”

Parvati considered the matter, took the shape of Sita and appeared in front of Rama, as he was crying out the name of Sita in great anguish. He looked at Parvati appearing as Sita, smiled and asked, “Why Parvati, are you here? Where is Sambhu? Why have you taken the shape of Sita?”

Parvati felt abashed and explained how she went there to test him and sought an explanation for Shiva saluting him.

Rama replied, “We are all only aspects of Shiva, worshipping Him at sight and remembering Him out of sight.”

@NarayanCha92762 @TruthAlone2
@Bestum_best

[Ramanajyothi @Searchof_WhoamI]

Maya Is What Is Not

"The world and the attachment to it are of the mind - not of the Self. Maya is ya ma - Maya is what is not. What remains over is the true self."

The knowledge that the mind is divorced from the Reality is maya. The mind is in Reality only and not apart. This knowledge is the elimination of maya.

What you mistake as a veil is itself made of nothing. See through it - and only the seeing remains.
~
Talk 280 & Talk 144

@TruthAlone2 @yaSubramanya1
@arbsridhar @SrimanNarayena
@Bestum_best

[RamanaEssence @RamanaEssence]

From the company of the wise comes non-attachment; from non-attachment comes freedom from delusion; from freedom from delusion comes unwavering stillness of the mind; and from that absolute stillness comes liberation while living.

~Adi Shankara
Bhaja Govindam

[Ramanajyothi @Searchof_WhoamI]

THE FILM OF CREATION AND DISSOLUTION

Every moment [i.e., many millions of times in a second] each atom [in the universe] is destroyed and newly created. Since this is going on unceasingly, it appears as if they [the objects of the universe] are the same [objects] existing continuously. Know thus.

- 'Guru Vachaka Kovai': 667

Sadhu Om: "Though each frame of a cinema film which is projected onto the screen consists of only one unmoving picture, since many such frames are projected in a second and since the speed of their projection is faster than the grasping power of our eyes, it seems to us as if the film contains one continuously moving picture.

Likewise, since everything in this universe, which is under the sway of the five functions of God, is created and destroyed by the inexpressible power of God many crores of times in a second, and since the speed with which they are created and destroyed is faster than the grasping power of our mind [that is, since our mind is unable to grasp the interval between each destruction and the subsequent new creation], it seems to us as if the universe is existing continuously.

"It will be useful here to note what is in fact meant in this verse by the creation and destruction of each atom of the universe. In verse 6 of Ulladu Narpadu Sri Bhagavan asks, "Can there be a world apart from the mind?", and in Who am I? He says, "Other than thoughts, there is no such thing as the world".

Therefore, since the universe is nothing but thoughts, the rising of thoughts is the creation of the universe and the setting of thoughts is its destruction. All thoughts, which are nothing but second and third persons, rise and set only to the mind, which is nothing but the first thought, ‘I am the body’. Therefore, since all other thoughts can rise only after the mind rises, and since they must set when the mind sets, their rising and setting must necessarily be even more rapid than the rising and setting of the mind, the thought ‘I’, which, through the inexpressible and wonderful power of God, itself rises and sets many crores of times in a second.

But since the mind is so fickle that it is unable to grasp or cognize even its own rising and setting, how can it grasp the rising and setting of other thoughts? It is because the mind is thus unable to grasp the speed with which other thoughts rise and set, that it appears to the mind as if there is existing continuously something as the universe.

Only when the mind scrutinizes itself, the first person, with a keen and subtle attention, and only when it is thereby able to cognize its own rising and setting, will it cease to rise and instead become motionless [achala]. And only in that state of motionlessness, in which the mind is no longer a mind but Self, will it be able to understand the rising and setting of the world, the second and third person thoughts, and will it have the supreme power not to allow any thought to rise.

It is because Bhagavan Ramana is such a One who ever remains firmly established in Self as Self, that He was able to discover and thus reveal the truth about creation, sustenance destruction and so on."

@nandhiji

[Nisargadatta Maharaj @Nisargadatta_M]

Without imagination there is no world. Your conviction that you are conscious of a world is the world. The world you perceive is made of consciousness; what you call matter is consciousness itself.