Sri Annamalai Swamigal asked Sri Bhagavan,
"How should one act without forgetting God at all times?"
Bhagavan did not reply. After some time, a few children came to Sri Bhagavan and played a Kummi song.
They sang, "Let us churn the curd, without forgetting Sri Krishna!"
Sri Bhagavan looked at the disciple and asked with a benign smile on his face, "Have you understood now?"
--
What is the use of trying to meditate assuming that there is a mind (which in fact is non-existent) and that one should control it?
If we do our assigned duties with this determined resolve - "I am not this body and mind, the ever-present Self am I," then meditation will come searching for us.
--
"You have been bitten by the deadly black cobra of ego, O son, drink the nectar of faith "I am not doer" and attain bliss!" - Ashtavakra Gita
--
1. He alone is a true man who performs without desire, all activities that come of their own accord, never letting go of Self-abidance.
2. He who does not think that he is the doer is superior the one who thinks that he
has given up everything.
3. A sanyasi who carries the notion 'I am a sannyasi (renunciate) is not a sannyasi. A grihastha (householder) who does not carry the notion - 'I am a grihastha' is indeed a sannyasi.
4. Each one perceives himself everywhere; World and God are mere reflections of one's own state of mind.
5. To enquire "Who am I?" is the eradication of all sorrow the attainment of supreme bliss.
6. Is there not a medicine to escape from the miseries of the world? - To this question of mine, Sri Bhagavan responded: Abiding in the Self continuously without letting go is the medicine.
7. Mouna (silence) is an unceasing speech. To be still is to be forever active. Mouna is the means for supreme attainment
11. Desire alone is Maya (illusory appearance of the phenomenal world). Dispassion indeed is Divine.
I am pure consciousness and whole. Remaining firmly aware thus, what does it matter however much one thinks or whatever one does? Like the dream that vanishes on waking from sleep, all is unreal. I am the very form of bliss
-- Kaivalya Navaneeetham (Chapter 2, Verse 173)
16. To my question as to how the same happiness experienced in meditation can also be found in activity,
Sri Bhagavan replied, "Happiness and misery are akin to one's mind. Happiness is our inherent nature. To think "I am the body" or "I am the mind" while ignoring the Self is misery. What to do? The thought "I am the body" has gathered strength over many births. If this is eradicated, what remains is happiness
18. On Solitude
Bhagavan: How does it matter where one is? The mind should forever abide in the Self. Other than this, there is no such thing as a solitary place outside. Wherever one stays with thoughts, such a place is already crowded. One does not need to meditate always with eyes shut, it is enough to shut the mind. There is no world outside the mind.
Those who tread the righteous path will not make such plans. Why?
Before we are ushered into this world, God has already ordained the course of our lives.
19. One day, a group of people came for Sri Bhagavan's darshan and departed after praying, "O Bhagavan! grant us Bhakti (devotion) and Moksha (Liberation)."
Later Bhagavan told us, "Everyone indeed wants to attain moksha, but when I say 'Give yourself unto me' they are unwilling to comply. Then how will moksha be attained?"
I understood that Bhagavan's words were meant for us.
20. You desire that the world should proclaim you as a Great one
The Iswara who resides in you alone confers bondage or freedom
What avails it if others know it or not
Be devoted to the Lotus feet of God, oh, mind,
Then Iswara would raise you to be acknowledged and admired by the world.
-- Vairagya Satakam
21. At one night when Sri Bhagavan was going out, I approached him and sought his advice saying, "Ever since I was assailed by sexual desire that day, I have not had proper food and sleep for the last three days. Since this is happening often, what will be my fate?"
After two minutes of silence, Sri Bhagavan graciously said,
"Why should one dwell on a bad thought that occurred long back? If one enquires as to whom this thought occurred, it would take flight."
22. I once asked Bhagavan: A person who on deeds still undergoes suffering, while and committing bad deeds does not encounter st do you explain this paradox?
Sri Bhagavan's response: Each one encounters happiness and misery alternately according to their karmic deposits from past births. Remaining indifferent to happiness and misery, accepting both with patience while abiding in the Self irrespective of whatever activity one happens to be engaged in, that alone is good.
23. My question: How is it that one can attain the abode of moksha easily by the grace of the Guru?
Sri Bhagavan's response: There is no such abode of moksha anywhere outside. It is only within oneself. Whoever has an earnest desire to attain moksha, the inner Guru gives him his hand and pulls him in from within. The outer Guru lends his hand and pushes him in from outside. This is Guru Krupai (Guru's grace).
As an example, Sri Bhagavan refers to the following song from Kaivalya Navaneetham:
O Lord, abiding within and having ruled over countless births
O Embodiment of truth, who manifested as Guru to instruct me- Praise Thee
This poor being has nothing to offer in return for your help in redeeming me and bestowing Freedom - Praise thy holy feet.
24. Sri Bhagavan replied with a smile: To know oneself and to abide in that state alone is the greatest benefit to the world.
Taking to the stage and giving lectures can be of benefit to only a few during that time, whereas the eloquence of silence can be heard by the whole world forever. It works eternally.
25. A devotee approached Sri Bhagavan and asked three questions in writing:
1. Did God create this world with all these differences fight in the beginning? Or did these differences creep
in later?
2. It God is impartial, how is it that he has created some as good and many as bad, one as lame, another as blind, one as jani, and many as ajnanis?
3. Are the eight Dikpalas (deities of directions e.g., East, West, etc.) thirty-three crores of Gods and the seven rishis (sages) existent even today?
After glancing through these questions, Sri Bhagavan immediately answered all of them in a single sentence: The answer will be plain to you if you ask yourself to whom these questions arose.
This reply was not clear to the seeker.
Sri Bhagavan explained: If we first come to know our Self, then the Truth about God and the world he created will be revealed to us. Without knowing the Self, seeking to know God and the world, is merely ignorance. A man suffering from jaundice sees everything yellow. If he tells others that everything is yellow who will accept his statement?
Further, that which is created anew is only a rehash of the old. As an example, Sri Bhagavan cites Bijangura Nyaya:
How is an entire banyan tree hidden in the banyan seedy How could you say which came first, the seed or the tree?
If one knows the Self, there is no world. If one knows the world, the Self is not perceived.
Without knowing the true nature of oneself, knowing about all other things is merely ignorance, not Wisdom [Ulladu Narpadu Verse 11, line 1]
If one considers oneself the form of this body of flesh, then the world and God will also be forms. [Ulladu Narpadu Verse 4, line 1]
If the Self is realised, what else is there to know? [Ulladu Narpadu Verse 3, line 1]
27. Sri Bhagavan often speaks about the meaning behind namaskaram (prostration) as follows:
"Sometime in the past, elders used namaskaram as a practice to surrender their body and mind to God. Totally forgetting that, to think that by simply prostrating to God He will fall for us, and we can use him for all our needs is a big mistake, because God can never be deceived. It is only the selfish and fake worshipers who get deceived.
Also, I don't like it when people approach me to do namaskaram. What namaskaram does the Swami need? To keep one's mind on the right path is the true namaskaram."
29. One night a devotee asked Sri Bhagavan a question in reference to the opening lines of Atmavidya Kirtanam: You say "Lo! Atma Vidya (the highest knowledge by which one experiences the Truth) is very easy! Atma Vidya is indeed very easy!"
How is it that Atma Vidya is easy?
Sri Bhagavan: A common example used to explain direct-perception, is the simile "as obvious as an Amalak (gooseberry fruit) in one's palm."
More directly perceptible than that, is the Self. To perceive an Amalak in one's palm, one needs Amalak fruit, the palm to hold it, the eye to see it and a mind available to perceive it.
Without these four, even those with little knowledge say, "I am. I slept well." Since the self-awareness "I Am" is self-evident, Atmavidya is very easy. Enquiring who it is that wants to attain Atma, is the easiest way.
32. Sri Bhagavan used to say that Advaita (Vedantic doctrine of non-duality) should not be practised in outer activities (Kriya).
"It is enough if there is no differentiation in the mind. If we key cartloads of discriminating thoughts within, one should not pretend that all is one on the outside. Under the pretext of equality and freedom, when people mix indiscriminately, we have seen what the result is. Only fights and battlefields are the legacy left behind. No one is happy as a result. This world is a huge theatre. Each person has to act whatever role is assigned to him. It is the nature of the universe to be differentiated, but there should be no discrimination within."
I was so moved by this saying of Sri Bhagavan that I requested Sri Bhagavan to summarise these ideas in Tamil verse. Sri Bhagavan, the ocean of compassion, composed a Venba (poem) beginning with the words, 'Always experience Advaita in the heart'
I further requested Sri Bhagavan to write it in his own hand in my diary. Sri Bhagavan agreed and graciously wrote the following Venba on February 16, 1938. (This verse-39 is from the appendix of Ulladu Narpadu)
O son, forever experience Advaita in the heart,
Never ever practise it in action.
Advaitic attitude may befit the three worlds
Yet is improper towards the Guru, know this.
(Tattvopadesam)
33. During the night, a devotee asked Sri Bhagavan how long one should stay with the Guru
The pure-minded and earnest seeker of knowledge should hold on to the Guru like a young monkey clings to its mother, right from the time of wrong identification with the body constituted of five elements to the moment of attainment of Nirguna Vidheha Mukti.
He further said: Forever inseparable like a man and his shadow, is the life of one who is in Gurukula Vaasam (Living with the Guru). Then, where is the question of his leaving it to go somewhere, or his staying inside? For such a one, all places are Gurukula Vaasam alone.
34. Sri Bhagavan looked at the plans with little or no attention and' said, "What has happened by which plan?
All these works are planned already by some power, even before coming to this place. When the appropriate time comes, everything will definitely happen according to plan."
37. True bhakti is to know oneself and to always remain this, without forgetting it
38. Like the river on reaching the ocean ceases to flow, and merges with the ocean becoming one with it, so does one's mind become the Atman (Anma mayam) in the end, if one uninterruptedly meditates on the Self (Atman).
39. To someone who asked: How to get rid of anger?,
Sri Bhagavan replied: Be angry with anger. Desire indeed is the root cause of anger. Absence of desire is supreme bliss.
42. On 20th March 1938, a devotee asked Sri Bhagavan three questions. Sri Bhagavan graced us with answers to all three questions.
Devotee's Question #1: God has no desires. So then, why did he create everything?
Sri Bhagavan: Only if there is any question that is apart from God, does this question have any validity.
What question can be there then?
First, who asks this question?
Does this question exist in sleep?
Who asked you to think "I am different and God is different?"
Only if we know our own worth can we even know about God, correct?
In sleep are you aware that the body exists?
First, you find out who you are. Later on, you can know about Anma and Shiva.
--
Devotee's Question #2: What is Atma?
Sri Bhagavan: That which always is indeed is Atma!
In sleep, what do we perceive?
Is it not common experience for all that we are not aware of anything?
Only on waking, does the world appear. To whom does it appear and vanish?
Look at that. That which is always, is the Self. After knowing that, let us worry about the connection between Atma and the Jiva.
What happens to the Atma after death? — let us contemplate that after death! First, enquire about sleep. Is Atma different (from us? Who is the one who wants to know about it?
If the buddhi (mind) which says "I am different and Atma is different disappears, that alone is enough.
If one holds on to a single thought or chant a Nama Japa (a repeated chanting of the Lord's name), other thoughts will leave on their own.
We should first know what birth is.
First the "I" thought arises. This is Jananam (birth). Only after this does the world arise. If we surrender to Iswara (God), He says, "I will take care of everything!" Without doing this, man thinks he is doing everything.
Devotee's Question #3: What is the fate of the one who does not know the Self?
Sri Bhagavan: Why bother about others?
Whatever comes, will go. Whatever is, exists always. Even though you know the one which is existing always, why do you concern yourself with the thoughts that arise continuously?
Forgetting the screen, if one believes the changing images on it to be true, what to do? Is everything seen through our eyes true? Is it not right that one should first examine all these, and only then worry about whether what was stated in the Puranas (epics) is true or not?
Nammazvar has sung, "I am indeed Thou, indeed my belongings are Thou." If you see "Who am I" what exists is only You (Self).
43. Once Sri Bhagavan said:
The real Guru will not prescribe any sadhana to a disciple to attain mukti (Liberation) because mukti is our real nature. Other than that, anything new is not real.
Whatever comes will go one day. That which comes and goes cannot be eternal. The Self always exists; it is the experience for all; it is that which everyone loves the most. Therefore, not letting go of the Self is the highest Sadhana.
In the end, there is neither Sadhana nor what is achieved by Sadhana. That which exists always is only one. Instead of that, if a Guru instructs a disciple that only by doing a sadhana he will attain mukti, then there is no greater Yama (God of death) than him.
44. When Sri Bhagavan used to stay up on the mountain, Sri Kavyakanta Sastrial said, My opinion is that for a person to live in this world, three Rupees per month is enough." to live in this world, three Rupees per month is enough." He then requested Sri Bhagavan's opinion on this matter.
Immediately Sri Bhagavan said, "If a person has a resolve that at any point of time, in order to live, he desires nothing whatsoever, then he can live in happiness."
45. Greatness of Arunachala
Since this Hithopadesa was in Sanskrit, I requested Sri Bhagavan to render it in Tamil. Hearing my request, Sri Bhagavan, the embodiment of compassion, graced
us with the following verse:
Forever to those who do not slip from the virtuous path and devotion,
Their refuge is Arunachalam only.
The evil-minded who harbour evil for others will perish
Being afflicted by many harmful diseases.
The power of evil will lose its potency here.
So do not perish falling in the fire of the anger of Arunachala whose form is Fire
itself
Sri Bhagavan then said, "Who can talk about the greatness of this mountain Arunachala?"
48. One morning, a devotee asked Sri Bhagavan: Is it true that God exists? I am not sure.
Sri Bhagavan replied, Know whether it is true or false that you exist. Then we can see whether God exists or not.
49. Once after supper, an old lady asked Sri Bhagavan: What is the way to keep my mind steady?
Sri Bhagavan graciously answered: It is enough to always contemplate on one thing. When the mind steps out again, if you bring it back to that single thought, in due course of time the mind will remain under our control.
50. A Marvadi (an ethnic group from the Rajasthan region) devotee asked Sri Bhagavan: I want to know myself. Sri Bhagavan should please prescribe a method for it.
Sri Bhagavan answered with a smile: Do you accept that you have two I's?
Devotee: That is what I don't know. What does one do to control the mind?
Sri Bhagavan: It is enough to observe from where the mind rises.
51.
Scholar: How does one control the mind?
Sri Bhagavan: Controlling the mind implies that there is another mind that is needed to control it. Just as a person who tries to measure his own shadow is incapable of doing so, similar is the futility in trying to control one's mind.
While asleep, how were we? The same Self we are even now. Ignoring that, and to think that we are this specific body, is the first mistake.
Just like on a canvas, there are many forms painted, but by seeing just one form one doesn't conclude "this form is indeed the entire canvas."
On a cinema screen, so many forms appear and disappear, but the screen itself remains still. Similarly, even though so many thoughts rise and fall, the Self remains still.
Scholar: Alas! The ajnana (ignorance) needs to go!
Sri Bhagavan: It is enough to observe to whom this ajnana needs to go.
53. One night a devotee requested permission from Sri Bhagavan thus: Swami, I intend to leave my town and go to the forest to perform tapas. I have decided to go with Sri Bhagavan's permission.
Si Bhagavan: One can leave his town but cannot leave his Self. If the town is apart from his Self, he can leave it. Abiding in his Self alone, is like being in the forest. Leaving his Self and going to the forest is no different from staying in his town.
57. One night Chadwick asked Sri Bhagavan: It is said that only when the mind arises does the world comes into being. My mind subsides in sleep and in dhyana (meditation) where the world does not appear to me. But does the extermal world really disappear? Looking at the experience of others, is it not true that the world still exists? Isn't the same world eternally present since it is created by some samashti (macrocosm) mind? That being so, how is it right to assert that the world does not exist and that it is only a dream?
Sri Bhagavan: The world never says that it has been created. by a samashti mind. Does it not appear only in our tiny little minds? If our mind (ego) is destroyed, no world exists.
58. One day when Sri Bhagavan was taking a stroll by the side of the hill, a scavenger who cleans the ashramam on seeing Sri Bhagavan, stopped his work and prostrated to him.
Sri Bhagavan gave him this upadesa: If you perform your work correctly that itself is a great namaskar (prostration). If each one without relinquishing his svadharma (prescribed duties in life) performs it, it is easier to attain the absolute Truth.
59. On the night of 23rd July 1938, a devotee asked Sri Bhagavan: It is said in the Shastras that one should focus his attention at the centre of the eyebrows. Is that correct?
Sri Bhagavan: The awareness that "I am" is evident for everyone. Discarding that, what happiness is there in seeing whichever God? There is nothing more foolish than believing that God exists only at the centre of the eyebrows etc. The suggestion that one needs to focus on the places you mentioned is one kind of crude method to concentrate the mind without letting it wander around and nothing more. Much easier than this, is to enquire "Who am I."
All methods of religion are only good for certain stages of maturity. The Maya which is a result of the mind has to be destroyed only by the mind.
Devotee: When it comes to matters of food, how should an Atma Sadhaka (a spiritual practitioner) conduct himself?
Sri Bhagavan: Better than all rules, the regimen of moderate sattvic (pure) food alone is good.
Devotee: So many asanas (yogic postures) are prescribed in the books - which is the best of these? Which one needs to be performed?
Sri Bhagavan: Nitidhyasanam (abiding in the Self) alone is good. It is enough to do just this.
61. Devotee: What is the purpose of one's life?
Bhagavan graciously answered: That a person even thinks that he should understand the true principle of life and conduct himself accordingly, is itself the result of austerities performed in his past lives. Those who are unmindful of this are wasting their time.
64. A person asked Sri Bhagavan about the form and formless aspects of the mind.
Sri Bhagavan answered: Pure mind is also called manokasam (a mind as clear as space). Waking up from sleep, we all experience Jnepthy, an awareness that occurs before the body-idea takes hold. This is the formless aspect of the mind
Then thoughts like "I am this body, there is the world," etc. come in. This indeed is the form of the mind. For example, in a cinema, only after the light is turned on, do forms appear on the screen. In the same way, this Atma Jyothi alone exists and in its presence, everything shines.
65. On the night of 22nd October 1938, a devotee asked Sri Bhagavan: O Bhagavan, I have seen so much of Vedas and Shastras but alas! I have not attained Atma Jnana (knowing the Self). Why?
Sri Bhagavan: Only if Atma Jnana is in the Shastras can it be attained from them. If one observes the Shastras, only Shastra Jnana (knowing the Shastras) can happen.
If one perceives Atma, then Atma Jnana shines.
Devotee's second question: How to perceive the Atma?
Sri Bhagavan: Each one of us says "I am." How did we come to know that? By looking at ourselves in a mirror?
If Atma were to be perceived, you need two Atmas. Will you accept that there are two I's for you?
Devotee: No.
Sri Bhagavan: All that exists is only one. That being so, how can one perceive another? Everybody exists as Atma alone everywhere, but that is not understood. It is a pity, what to do! If one drops the idea "I am the body" then what remains is Atma alone.
Devotee: What am I to do now? What is my duty?
Sri Bhagavan: You do not have to do anything now. See who you are. Afterward, if there is any duty, you can do
THIRUDHASANGAM SONGS
1. Sri Bhagavan's Name
Poet: O Glorious Parrot! Please tell, what is the holy name of our Master, the one who gracefully resides at Tiruvannamalai?
Parrot: For He who wears many garlands and plays in the infinite space, for that Vedanayakan Bhagavan Ramana (Lord of the Vedas) all given names are His names only.
2. Sri Bhagavan's Country
Poet: O Parrot from the garden enriched with beautiful flowers and climbers! Please tell me which is the noble country where the golden king of Annamalai shines?
Parrot: For He who has conquered the kingdom of divine Grace, for that pure one, can there ever be a country greater than that? Tell me!
3. Sri Bhagavan's Place
Poet: O Parrot with a mouth rich in honey! Please tell me which is the place our divine Lord of Thiruchuzi belongs to?
Parrot: The Gods from the sky and Humans on this earth whose attention (chittam) is rooted in the cave of consciousness, there is the place where He belongs.
4. Sri Bhagavan's River
Poet: O Parrot with a lovely red beak and beautiful golden wings! Please tell me which is the river of our Lord and Guru of Arunachala.
Parrot: The gushing river of supreme bliss which floods its banks to cleanse the deadly impurities of karma, egotism, and maya (illusion, delusion) is His river indeed!
5. Sri Bhagavan's Mountain
Poet: O young Parrot of greenish hue! Please tell me which is the mountain that our famous Guru of Annamalai praises the most?
Parrot: For our great God who revels in the highest state of attainment extolled by the scriptures, upasantham (deep silence) is the mountain He likes and praises the most.
6. Sri Bhagavan's Horse
Poet: O Parrot of beauty and elegance who is inseparable from me! Which is the horse that is worthy of our Lord and Guru of Annamalai?
Parrot: Those Devas (Gods) who have severed their attachment over the body and other upadhis (adjuncts) which lead to suffering, who bow down to the great Lord (Ramana), for Him, Space indeed is the horse.
7. Sri Bhagavan's Weapon
Poet: O Parrot who lives in the garden rich with flower-creepers! Please tell me, the weapon our Satguru uses to take the life of his enemies?
Parrot: Jnana Shakti (Power of Jnana) is the weapon that our Satguru uses to destroy the most harmful enemy on earth, which is the bondage of Karma.
8. Sri Bhagavan's Musical Drum
Poet: O great young Parrot! Please tell me what type of drum is played for our sweet Master of Annamalai?
Parrot: The crescendo of Supreme bliss due to which the body and mind of the virtuous one dissolve is the drum of divine music.
9. Sri Bhagavan's flower garlands
Poet: O Parrot of blemishless speech! What is the garland that our Master, who resides in the hearts of devotees, loves the most?
Parrot: On this earth, the garland of poems composed by the four great types of poets like Asukavi, whose words bring tears of love, is the garland He loves the most.
10. Sri Bhagavan's Flag
Poet: O Parrot of sweet words without malice! Tell me, which is the flag of the
stainless one living in beautiful Tiruvannamalai?
Parrot: He who does not argue with anyone, that master of compassion who abides in Himself without the notion of 'other,' the flag He chose is Silence.
68. Body and mind are the property of God. To offer them to God alone is the only true surrender. Then the individuality having gone, he becomes one with God Himself, without duality.
69. Once while looking at a small baby, Sri Bhagavan said, "If one's mind becomes so pure like this child, then he can attain Brahmananda (the bliss of Brahman)."
I asked Sri Bhagavan, "What is the difference between the child and a Jnani?"
Sri Bhagavan replied, "The child, because of ajnana is ignorant. The Jnani, because of Jnana is a child of wisdom."
70. 20th September 1938.
Sri Bhagavan graciously mentioned: Whosoever at all times anticipates God's deeds, knowing that nothing happens by him, and loves God as the one who takes care of everything, God makes him follow the path of Truth every single minute.
72. September 23rd, 1938.
Sri Bhagavan was extolling the greatness of Arunachala:
"This hill is a Tejolingam (a glowing symbol of Lord Shiva). Nowhere, not in any world, is there a Linga like this. Though the other lingas are the creation of Iswara (God), they cannot be equal to this. This hill is the Self itself, shining as the Self. This place has another name, Nava Dwara Puri. That is, there are nine entrances to Tiruvannamalai available always. Purana says that Arunagiri Yogi in the form of a Siddha is ever-present under a banyan tree on the north side of the hill."
73. If you stay wanting nothing, everything comes as if it was just meant for you! That is why one should avoid both likes and dislikes
74. On 2nd January 1939, a devotee asked Sri Bhagavan: It has been said in the Shastras that there are different kinds of Ananda. Are there so many kinds?
Sri Bhagavan: Ananda is only one. That itself is God. Ananda is our true nature. Since we experience that Ananda outwardly through various sense pleasures, it has resulted in so many names.
No matter how many pleasures you enjoy through the mind, that many millions of troubles will also have to be endured. But for a Jnani that is not the case. The entire Ananda that all those in the world experience - the Jnani forever experiences that as his Brahmananda (the Bliss of Brahman).
Brahmananda is like an ocean. External pleasures are like wave, froth, bubbles, and water drops. In sleep, Ananda is common for all. All living beings, from the very poor to great kings - all experience Ananda equally in sleep.
75. November 11th, 1938.
In the evening when I was walking along the hill with Sri Bhagavan, I asked him: When I meditate, what should I do to avoid falling asleep?
Sri Bhagavan: Those who meditate should not do too much work and should not load the stomach with heavy food. If the stomach is always kept empty, one can ascend. That is, one should neither tighten the strings of the veena (a stringed instrument) too much nor loosen them too much. The body should be maintained like that; sleep also like that.
There is one kind of arrangement that divides the night ino 3 parts where one needs to sleep during one part. That is going to bed at 10 in the night, one should give up seep at 2 in the morning. One should not sleep in the afternoon. There is another kind too. One should get up whenever one wakes up, should sleep whenever he feels sleepy but should not think, "I slept, I woke up."
Further, he recited a verse for us from Devikalothram and graciously explained its meaning
On account of sleep and countless thoughts daily,
Mind indeed gets much degenerated
Make this mind realise through effort
And keep it abiding in Being and not becoming.
Keep abiding on and on.
77. On January 38, 1939 during Satsang at night, a devotee asked Sri Bhagavan: I forget to meditate because I have too much work to do. How will I advance if I forget like this?
Sri Bhagavan: Does not matter. Jnana does not dawn in just a day. The seeds of past actions will vanish only over time. Today we think we have forgotten to meditate once in 4 hours. The next day, once in 3 1/2 hours that awareness will occur. The next day once in 3 hours. Like this day by day when one meditates, he gets enthusiasm.
Why should one think "I have not meditated at all; I have been doing work only?" If one stops thinking "I have done; I have not done," all activities will culminate as dhyana. Then one cannot give up dhyana. Even if we give it up, it will not give us up. That indeed is Sahaja Samadhi.
Devotee: Would I have done meritorious deeds in past births?
Sri Bhagavan: Aha! Without it will such thoughts arise?
79. Some time ago (thinking Sri Bhagavan would suggest some medicine) I asked Sri Bhagavan: I often get stomach pain. What should I do about this?
Sri Bhagavan: What to do? This body itself is a great disease. To get rid of this disease one should remain till (Summa Iru: abide in the Self.) All other diseases will then vanish.
You are telling me! Who will I tell about the diseases I have? (referring to the body).
81.
Kaivalya Navaneetham,
Chapter 2, Verse 60
Disciple: How is it that God, who is impartial, advances a few and degrades others?
Master: He is like the father who encourages his sons who are in the right way, and frowns on the other sons who are in the wrong way. Know it to be mercy to punish the erring and direct them to be righteous.
Chapter 2, Verse 61
The celestial tree, fire, and water protect those who seek them, by fufilling their desires, keeping them warm, and quenching their thirst. So also, Iswara is kind to His devotees who seek him and not so to others who don't. Now think well and judge whose fault it is.
Chapter 2, Verse 35
Hear me further. The activities of the Jnani are solely for the benevolence of the world. He does not stand to lose or gain anything. Just as the Almighty, who bestows his Grace on all, is not affected by the merits or demerits resulting from creation and other actions.
82.
Sri Bhagavan said that the meaning of Yajna and Yaga is simply renunciation.
Furthermore, when compared to all renunciations, the renunciation of the body indeed is freedom, he said.
83. Sri Bhagavan explained the difference between a Jnani and an Ambani using some stories as examples:
3. "Like sleeping in a vehicle that is moving."
4. "In a certain place, two men were lying down, both fast asleep. One of them dreamt that both men were running in a forest, wandering here and there, climbing uphill and struggling. The other man slept well without any dreams. Nevertheless, the one who dreamt, thinks that he (the other person who slept well) too underwent difficulties like him. Just like this are the states of a Inani and an ajnani."
6. "The ajnani is ever awake to the world and asleep to the Reality, while the Jnani is ever awake to the Reality and asleep to the world."
7. The ajnani is like the one who missing the screen, sees only the names and forms appearing on it, whereas the Jnani is like the one who perceives the screen which is the background for all names and forms."
This indeed is the difference between a Jnani and an ajnani", Sri Bhagavan concluded.
84. On the evening of October 8th, 1938, when Sri Bhagavan was taking a stroll on the hill, I went along and asked for a boon, "Oh, Sri Bhagavan, I do not need anything else in the world, only grant me the boon that I should not get dehatma buddhi" (the identification of the Self with the body).
Sri Bhagavan nodding his consent said, "It is precisely for this that all the great ones struggled. You are also like them."
85 October 11th, 1938.
Si Bhagavan's younger sister Alamelu Ammal, taking pity on me, asked Chinnaswami and Sri Bhagavan, "Why did Annamalai Swami leave the ashram and go to Pelakothu?"
Sri Bhagavan answered graciously, "How do I know what the reason is? There is the One who can take care of all burdens. When I say, surrender everything to Him and be still (Summa Iru), who listens to me?"
88. How did so much sin and suffering come to me?
Sri Bhagavan: We should say, it is because of one's past life. Suppose you contemplate how that past karma came about. Instead of reasoning that it happened because of the previous life, enquire as to whom this birth has occurred. If the body has taken birth, then let the body ask all these questions. You say that you are always experiencing sorrow. Only your thoughts say so.
What exists always is happiness only. What comes and goes is indeed sorrow. Being the embodiment of bliss forever, to think one is in sorrow is indeed sorrow. Whatever comes and goes anew is all just sorrow. Only that which exists always is happiness.
A great Monarch, despite having all kinds of wealth and so many attendants to accomplish whatever he wants to be done, yet experiences sorrow, only because his state of mind is not good. Another person though struggling to get a morsel of food, because his mind is pure, is always happy. See who is the happy one in this.
Dattatreya used to wander in the forest without any clothes on him and would be always be seen in a blissful state.
King Yadu on seeing him wondered, "What, he always seems happy! Whereas, though I have everything, I am always steeped in sorrow." So, one day he went to Datareya and asked him, "Dear Sir, how do you always seem to be blissful?"
Dattatreya responded to King Yadu's question at length:
"O, Rajah! I have twenty-four Gurus. I move about in the world as a liberated being because of the Jnana earned through those Acharyas. Know who are those Acharyas.
After negating a few, they are earth, air, ether, water, fire, moon, sun, wild sparrow, python, ocean, moth, bee, elephant, honey collector, deer, fish, a damsel by name Pingala, child, small girl, archer, and a serpent.
1-7. I realized patience from the earth, omnipresence from the air, non-attachment from the ether, purity from water, holiness from fire, from the moon the realization that all changes are only for the body and not for Self, from Sun how a Yogi though perceiving worldly objects through senses, is never attached to them.
8. From wild sparrow I learnt that whosoever gets attached to a home, he, though practicing higher sadhana slips down.
9. From python, I learnt that whether food is available or not, one should accept both without worry and doership like a python.
10. Like the ocean, I learnt that I should be graceful, majestic, unfathomable by the minds of others, expansive and undisturbed.
11. When the moth falls into a lamp, it burns and dies. I learnt, so also the person falling into the fire of lust for women gets destroyed.
12. I learnt from the bee that one should seek just enough food for one's sustenance without desiring anything from others.
13. I learnt from the elephant that even though the male is all-powerful, it suffers pangs of distress when it becomes attached to the female elephant; that touching a woman or even going near her is akin to meeting Yama (Lord of Death).
14. Learnt from the honey collector that just as the honey bee works for several days collecting honey, only to lose it all in an instant, to the honey collector, similarly everything a person has worked hard for, can be taken away from him by someone instantaneously
15. Just as the deer, atracted by the hunter's song gets trapped in his net, so also a Sadhu (monk), when fascinated by worldly affairs is sure to be bound. So, I learnt from the deer, that a Sadhu should not engage in worldly affairs.
16. Being unable to control its tongue, the fish gets attracted to the bait of a fishing rod and dies. So also, I learnt from that fish that a man who cannot control his tongue will suffer. One should be a master of one's tongue.
17. Once a dasi (immoral woman) called Pingalai, fully decorated, was waiting in the expectation that a paramour with money would come to her. She wandered here and there till late in the night. Since no one came, she felt pained, crest-fallen, became weak mentally and began to enquire into the cause for her sorrow. She learnt that happiness comes from Paramatma (Supreme Self) alone and not from the cheap pleasures attained from mean men and money. She became dispassionate. She attained the happiness bom of wisdom by worshiping the one who is always by her side, the eternal one, the Paramatma (Supreme Self) indeed as her husband. I learnt from Pingala that there is no happiness in worldliness and what is to be attained is only the bliss of the Self.
18. I learnt from a child how one should remain in a state without honour or dishonour.
19. Further, I shall tell you a story about a girl. When her parents were not in town, she saw a group of people who came to arrange her marriage. She thought of serving them food and started to make rice, by pounding paddy to separate it from the husk. The bangles on her wrists made a lot of noise. Feeling shy, she removed all but two bangles and continued pounding. Still, she could hear the noise of the bangles. So, she removed one of them and put it on the other hand. Now there was no noise at all. So also, I learnt from the actions of this young girl that a Yogi should practice solitude.
20. From the archer, I learnt the principle that one should remain focused on his target.
21. Just as a serpent lives happily moving into a rat's hole, so also, I learnt the principle of not possessing a home for myself but rather be able to live comfortably no matter where.
There is a 25th Guru for me and that is my body. This body is the cause for my Vairagya (dispassion) and Jnana (enlightenment). Dispassion comes from the knowledge that birth and death of the body invariably lead to sorrow
90. March 29, 1939.
Maurice Friedman asked Sri Bhagavan: When I meditate, I am not aware of anything. Is it manolayam (temporary stillness of thought) or manonasam (annihilation of ego)?
Sri Bhagavan: No question arises in manolayam and manonasam.
Friedman: What does manonasam mean?
Sri Bhagavan: "I am not aware of anything, "I am aware of something".. Not having any doubtful thoughts like these, is manonasam.
91. On April 2nd, 1939
two Congress workers asked Sri Bhagavan, “After attaining Jnana with your grace, can we teach the world?”
Sri Bhagavan: Leave aside the idea of teaching the world. First, know yourself. Then, if at all there is a world or there are people, you may teach. To think of helping the world without knowing yourself is very much like a blind person going out to give eye treatment to people at large. First, clean your eyes. Then, if you can perceive all the eyes of others truly as your own eye, can you remain without helping others?
Workers: Why are we not able to attain Jnana, however long we try to hold on to what is mentioned in the Vedanta Shastras (scriptures) as Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman)?
Sri Bhagavan: There is no Atma Jnanam in Vedanta Shastra. If one studies oneself, then there is Atma Jnanam.
Workers: How to study ourselves?
Sri Bhagavan: Only if the Self is dual, we can study it, is it not?
The Self, abiding as the Self, is indeed Self-knowledge.
Without knowing oneself, by studying the Veda Shastras, one can get all the respect one wants from the world. Society will garland this person, recite words of appreciation for him, he will obtain food, name, fame, and money. That is all. But all these are huge obstacles for Jnana and sadhana.
Workers: Howsoever we try, alas! The sorrow of samsara never ends at all! Sri
Bhagavan: If one inquires as to who is affected by this sorrow of samsara, then the sorrow will end.
Workers: It is said that Atma can be attained through Patanjali’s Yoga. Is that so?
Sri Bhagavan: Yogam (Union) means there are two entities, and they unite. Will you accept that there are two selves?
Workers: No.
Sri Bhagavan: You are Atma. Only if there is something apart from you, something other than you, can you either help or hinder it. If all that exists is only you, then where is the question of liking or disliking?
Desirelessness is the greatest bliss.
Workers: Again, we are asking you due to our ignorance, O Bhagavan! Please
forgive us and we request you to answer. It is advised that one should do Abhyasa (practice, sadhana) to end the mind. How is that?
Sri Bhagavan: Who is the one that wants to end the mind? Observing that, is the way to end the mind.
Worker: Who am I? Alas! I do not know!
Sri Bhagavan: Without knowing who I am, we want to attain something else. We are “That” indeed. Without That, no matter what new divine world or position comes to you, it will vanish at some point. We are not that which comes and goes. That which is always experienced by all, That alone we are. That is moksha (liberation).
Worker: How does the Guru help the disciple?
Sri Bhagavan: Guru and God can only point out “You are That.” They cannot do anything else. To follow that path is the work of the disciple (Sri Bhagavan became silent). The workers prostrated and left.
92. Sri Bhagavan once graced us with this: When you tend to fall asleep, wake up. When you are awake, sleep. This indeed is sleeping without sleep. It is said that being without any worries is indeed sleeping without sleep (Bhagavan is referring to that state which is beyond sleep i.e., beyond sushupti, svapna, and jagrat).
93. On April 7th, 1939, a few devotees asked, “O Bhagavan! Atma (Self) is not evident to us. Why is that?”
Sri Bhagavan: Atma alone is self-evident. No other thing or entity is self-evident. Even though we are so self-evident, the idea that “I am the body” conceals it. If we drop that idea, then Atma which is always the experience of all will reveal itself.
Question: Bhagavan, you say it so easily, but for us, the idea that we are the body has not gone!
Sri Bhagavan: Since that thought is so strong, it has not gone.
Question: Why? How did that thought come about?
Sri Bhagavan: It came only because we never enquired about it.
He then recited a song from Kaivalya Navaneetham:
My dear child! Being impossible to talk about it, Truth is beyond words.
Those who believe that their body, world, etc. are real are indeed immersed in maya.
How this falsehood came about, none knows.
If you ask why this maya came about, it is only because of the absence of Vichara (enquiry).
—Kaivalya Navaneetham, Chapter 2, Verse 95
If we see our own Self, the things we see will not be felt as separate from us. Very much like seeing the words on a page without seeing the paper (which is the basis for those words), all this suffering happens because we only see what is manifested, without seeing the substratum. So, we should not be consumed by the manifestations without forgetting the basis for them, the substratum.
How were we while we were asleep? That same Self, we are now as. Why only now should we think that we are the body? While sleeping so many thoughts such as this body, this world, etc. were never there, were they? To identify ourselves with those that appear and disappear is indeed misery. We always have the experience that “I Am.”
“I slept well, I dreamt, I did not know anything when I was unconscious, I woke up”… In all these states, you are the one that is existing, and yet if you search for yourself, where can you find it? Whatever is seen is the Self. The one thing that you should never ever do is to think that you are the body.
94. 9th April 1939. Devotees asked Sri Bhagavan: What is satsangam?
Sri Bhagavan: Satsangam is only Atma sangam. For those it is not possible, there needs to be sadhu sangam which is being in the company (sangam) of those who have realized the Truth.
Devotees: When shall we be blessed with sadhu sangam?
Sri Bhagavan: Those who for many lives have been performing puja to Iswara, japa, tapas, pilgrimages, etc. properly, only they are blessed with sadhu sangam. That is, all this will lead them to the Satguru.
The song by Saint Thayumanavar Swami is about this.
For those who have been properly initiated with Deity, place of pilgrimage and holy waters of the temple, O Absolute One, to initiate the upadesa a Satguru will be ordained to arrive.
He who has done a lot of nishkamya punya (actions done without expecting results) in his past lives, for him alone will strong faith in the Guru arise. With such faith in his Guru’s words and by following the path, he will reach his home (liberation).
Devotees: What are we, who live in a place where there are no sadhus, to do? Alas! We cannot have darshan of sadhus daily, what to do?
Sri Bhagavan: Are you asking what to do? It is for this purpose that idols, pictures, divine names, pujas, etc. have been created. Only those who have first obtained the Grace of Iswara will get the Grace of Satguru. Only by the Grace of the Satguru will he obtain the Grace of the Self, which is within. That indeed is the abode of moksha (liberation).
95. Sri Bhagavan said: Man first ruins himself. Then he thinks of ruining others.
97. One day Sri Bhagavan graced us by saying: Even for the Jnani who is in the Varishta stage (a supreme state), vasanas appear to manifest according to his prarabdha (They seem to manifest at the body level, but a Jnani is beyond the body and prarabdha - prarabdha is only for the body).
Vasanas are of two types: bandhahethu (vasanas that lead a jiva to bondage) and mokshahethu (vasanas that lead a jiva to liberation) (These two vasanas are only in a jiva and not in a Jnani because he is beyond all vasanas).
Akarmam (actionless action) indeed is Jnana. Effortlessly doing whatever comes on its own is Jnana.
99. One day I asked Sri Bhagavan: Can one practice sahaja samadhi in the beginning stage itself?
Sri Bhagavan: Aha! One can practice it very well.
I asked: How to practice it? How to be in nirvikalpa samadhi? What are the types of samadhis?
Sri Bhagavan: Samadhi is only one indeed. Not many kinds. Without any thoughts, abiding in the Self is nirvikalpa samadhi. Never forgetting one’s Self (during activity) is sahaja samadhi. Both are equally blissful.
100. On the night of June 19th, 1942 Sri Bhagavan spoke about the greatness (Mahatmyam) of Arunachala:
“This is not a hill that appears at one point in time and destroyed later. It has neither beginning nor end. It is a Swayambu Lingam — Meaning of Lingam: ling means union, gam means manifests. There are many more meanings such as God, Atma, Siva, and so many other names. This hill is not of the earth. All universes owe their existence to this hill. Lingam is the source of all manifestation and dissolution.”
Bhagavan told another story: Purana (epic) stories say that God takes the dust of his devotees’ feet, keeps it in a box, covers it with silk cloth, and does puja to it. God does it to demonstrate that he is the devotee of his devotees. Whoever in the world worships me, I worship him.
101. “Worshiping the holy feet of one’s Self is the greatest worship.”
102. Sri Bhagavan said: There should be no one humbler than us. Only the one who knows how to be the humblest, he alone can become the greatest of all. God is like an atom to the smallest atom and much larger than the largest creation.
All are God’s form indeed. Because of our bedha buddhi (the idea of differentiation), we consider ourselves to be an individual. There is no greater mistake in the world than this.
104. Sri Bhagavan once said, “What we see in the waking state and that which we see in dreams are both the same. There is not even an iota of difference. The purpose of dreams is only to prove that the waking state is false.
By the grace of God, the world in the waking state keeps changing continuously, and yet we assume that the same world we saw before is still there. So how are we to know that the world we see in the waking state is false? History says that this world has been here for thousands and thousands of years. As a result, we conclude that the world we see in the waking state does not change and is indeed real. This is only our ignorance.
The world keeps changing every minute. If you ask how, our body now is not the same body we had when we were young. For example, a lamp is lit at night and continues to glow the next day. We say the lamp has not changed, but is that right? Hasn’t it been changing continuously? Hasn’t the oil been changing? A river has so much water flowing continuously. When we see the river the next day, we assume that the water that was flowing yesterday is the same water that is flowing today also. Is that right? The water that was flowing yesterday has changed long ago and is no longer here now.
Similarly, the world is continuously changing. The world is not permanent. Whereas we (Self) remain the same, without any change whatsoever, in all three states of waking, dream, and deep sleep. No one can say that he does not exist. Therefore, we (Self) are the permanent reality. Do not forget this. This indeed is the home (abode of Freedom)."
105. One day Sri Bhagavan graced us by saying: The amount of sin that one incurs by not remembering God, an equal amount of sin is incurred by one who has reached a state of high spiritual maturity but yet thinks “I am different, God is different.”
The fate of the mature one who thinks he is different from God is the same fate as that of the one that never remembers God.
May 15th, 1939.
In the evening, as Sri Bhagavan was returning from his stroll, I asked him a question: Bhagavan says being still (Summa Iru) means to be always active, and being in maunam (silence) means to be speaking always. I do not quite understand this.
Sri Bhagavan (still walking): Is that so? Are you able to perceive “I am”?
My humble self: Yes, I perceive.
Sri Bhagavan: How do you perceive?
My humble self: Oh! I do not know how I perceive that “I am.”
Sri Bhagavan: Just like that indeed. Being still means doing work always. Doing work does not mean digging with a spade. Working means ever shining as That (Self). Remaining in silence, indeed, is speaking forever. Further, both (action and silence) are the same.
This is what is referred to by great men so graciously as, “I think without thinking (the thinker), say without saying (the speaker), listen without listening (the listener.)”
If you remain without speaking, God will come and speak indeed.
Silent exposition is indeed a great Shastra (scripture). If that one thing is learnt, all doubts will vanish. Instead, even if you read countless millions of books as vast as the sky, your doubts will never vanish.
On June 4th, 1939,
a devotee wrote the following question to Sri Bhagavan: O Bhagavan! I must attain mukti. For that, you alone are my Guru. I do not approach anyone else. Please bless me.
Sri Bhagavan: Mukti is not something new to be attained. We all are indeed the embodiment of mukti. We forget this. The erroneous thought that we are the body leads to thousands of thoughts, wave after wave, which instantly cover us. Only when we totally give up this thought (that I am the body) mukti will shine.
Devotee: How to give up the thought that I am the body?
Sri Bhagavan: Since you have prayed to the Guru, surrender totally to him.
Devotee: I am often faced with difficulties. How will they go?
Sri Bhagavan: Give up the dehatma buddhi (the idea that you are the body). All difficulties will fly away.
Also, in the following song from Kaivalya Navaneetham, it is mentioned that Iswara and the Jnani are one.
The song is as follows:
O Guru who manifests as God, formless and with form
Told us that God and Jnani are the same, how is it so?
God and Jnani are the same once ‘I and Mine’ have been obliterated
He is the One who is God, numerous jivas, the world and all!
#5 On June 6th, 1939,
a person asked Sri Bhagavan: It is said in the puranas (epics) that being in Kailash, Vaikuntam, and Brahmaloka is indeed moksha (liberation). Is that so? Or does moksha mean the merging in Brahman without consciousness of body, mind, and world?
Sri Bhagavan: It is not moksha to be present in Kailash or Vaikunta. If everybody goes to Kailash and Vaikunta, where is the space available for all to live? Where are Kailash, Vaikunta and Swarga?
If I continue to exist separate from God and then enjoy the bliss of God, in that case God has to be jada (inert). If He is jada, where is the question of enjoying his bliss?
For him who is the bliss of Self arising from the extinction of the ego, what is there to do? He knows nothing other than his Self. How to conceive the nature of his state?
— Ulladu Narpadu, Verse 31
#7 On June 17th, 1939,
I asked Sri Bhagavan: In the Shastras, it is said that even a Jivan Mukta (one who attained liberation in his bodily life) will only act according to his prarabdha. But O Bhagavan! How do you say that there is no prarabdha for the Jnani?
Sri Bhagavan: For the Jnani there is neither Shastra nor prarabdha. These do not apply to the Jnani. The rules of Shastras have been created only for the ajnanis.
We can use an analogy to explain prarabdha for a Jnani. For example, assume that a man has three wives. If the man dies and you say that only two of his wives are now widows and one remains a sumangali (a woman whose husband is alive), who will accept it? Are not all three widows? So also for the Jnani, none of the three types of karma are applicable. Indeed, there is no karma at all for the Jnani.
Prarabdha is only for those who see and ask this question.
In the song from Ulladu Narpadu Appendix – verse 33, this idea is mentioned:
On knowing the Self, the act of doership having gone, all three types of karmas will vanish. The state of mukti is eternal indeed.
#8 On 19th June 1939,
a lady scholar lovingly requested, “O Sri Bhagavan! I want to attain peace. You alone can help me.”
Sri Bhagavan: Shanti (peace) indeed is our real nature. How can we attain it in the future?
For example, if one has a headache right from birth till his death, he never thinks of taking medicine for it. This is because the headache is ever-present and natural to him. Just like this, peace also is always ever-present and natural. What enters and disrupts the peace is the differential thought that I am separate.
In sleep, this differentiation is not there. That I slept well is an experience for all.
If you wonder how, it is like a person standing in water up to his mouth and shouting “I am thirsty,” or like saying that the water itself is thirsty. Peace, Happiness, and Moksha — all these are indeed our natural names.
#11 On 25th June 1939,
Sri Bhagavan while talking to a devotee, said the following about Jnana:
•. “Words of Jnani are asariri (without a body. So, God’s words.)”
•. “Trying to understand a Jnani’s actions is like trying to measure the sky using the palm of your hand as a scale.”
•. “Atma is the subtlest, being smaller than the point of a pin, like an atom to the smallest atom, and much larger than the largest creation.”
#15 On August 2nd, 1939
I asked Sri Bhagavan, “Sri Bhagavan says that if one attains Jnana, he is no longer bound by the three karmas. But in Kaivalya Navaneetham it is said that the Jnani will only experience his prarabdha. Why is that?”
Sri Bhagavan: Since prarabdha is already destined before he acquires Jnana, it is only for those who see him that it appears as though the Jnani experiences prarabdha. There are many analogies to explain this.
•. A hunter shot an arrow at what he thought was a tiger. Instead, it turned out to be a cow. Now, even if the hunter repents thinking, “Oh! It is not a tiger; why did I shoot the arrow to kill a cow?”, the arrow that left his bow would have still hit the cow.
•. An electric fan, even after it is switched off, will continue to run for some time.
•. A rope that has been burnt still looks like a rope, but it cannot be used for tying anything.
•. A tree that has been cut down still resembles a living tree, but it is by no means a living tree.
•. Fried grains are grains too, but they cannot sprout.
The prarabdha of a Jnani is just like what we see in these five examples. There is no prarabdha from the standpoint of a Jnani. Only from the standpoint of an observer, it appears as though the Jnani is experiencing prarabdha.
#16 On 8th August 1939,
a noble lady from America posed a few questions which were gracefully answered by Bhagavan as follows:
Question: What is the state that I should attain? I request Sri Bhagavan to kindly explain it to me clearly (Requesting with great respect).
Sri Bhagavan: It is everlasting happiness that is most dear to everyone, and it is only that which we should attain. We keep searching for it and try to attain it in many ways. But it is not something that is new and to be attained in the future. It is already an experience for everyone and is our real nature, this experience that “I Am.” This is always with us. Even though we all are experiencing this, due to our ignorance we imagine that it is somewhere outside of us and therefore, our mind is always seeking it without rest.
To give an analogy, it is like a person using his very tongue to say that he has no tongue.
Question: Then why is there a need for so many sadhanas?
Sri Bhagavan: It is only to drop the idea that this experience is something new to be attained, that so many sadhanas exist. Forgetting oneself, thinking that I am the body is indeed the root of maya. The rising of this single thought, instantly multiples into thousands of thoughts and covers the Self. Only if we dispel all these thoughts will the Truth of the Self shine in all its splendour. Then what remains is only Brahmananda (the bliss of Brahman).
...
Seeing God and attaining God is just like the difficulties illustrated in this story. Avoiding the thought that it is something new to be attained and abiding as the Self is indeed the attainment of it.
Thus, in a detailed manner, Sri Bhagavan gracefully gave the American lady the true upadesa that abiding as one’s Self alone is attaining God. Through her, Sri Bhagavan dispelled the ghosts of doubts in the minds of all devotees and shone like the Sun of Jnana that destroys all darkness.
Shubam, Shubam, Mangalam
(Peace, Peace, Auspiciousness)
Om Namo Bhagavathe Sri Ramanaya.
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