the way-of-self enquiry
TRANSCRIPT
1
Sri Ramana Maharshi
– The Way of Self-enquiry (1879 –1950)
2
His Biography (1)
Sri Ramana Maharshi was born on December 30, 1879, as Venkataraman Iyer, in a village called Tiruchuli, about 30 miles south of Madurai, in southern India, into a middle-class family.
His father died when he was twelve, and he lived with his uncle in Madurai, where he attended American Mission High School.
His classmates remember that he had a strong tendency for religious ecstasy even as a student. Others remember his abnormally deep sleeping habits that led to playing tricks on the young Venkataraman while he was asleep. Apart from that, he was described as strong, quiet and intelligent.
At age 16, he became spontaneously self-realized.
3
Six weeks later he ran away from home, to be
close to the holy hill of Arunachala, near
Tiruvannamalai, in Southern India, where he
would remain for the rest of his life.
Upon arrival at Tiruvannamalai, for several
years he stopped talking and spent many hours
each day in Samadhi, in a small cell under the
Tiruvannamalai Temple.
4
His Biography (2)
When he began speaking again, people came to
ask him questions, and he soon acquired a
reputation as a sage.
In 1907, when he was 28, one of his early
devotees named him Bhagavan Sri Ramana
Maharshi, Divine Eminent Ramana the Great
Seer, and the name stuck.
5
Eventually he became world-famous, and an
ashram was built around him, which is still
functioning today, known as
Ramanashramam, with many permanent or
temporary residents, and hundreds of people
visiting it each day throughout the year.
Sri Ramana Maharshi died of cancer in 1950,
at the age of 70.
6
B&W Photos of Sri Ramana Maharshi
at 21 in his 60’s
7
About His Self-Realization (1) At age 16, he heard somebody mention
"Arunachala." Although he didn't know what the word meant (it's the name of a holy hill associated with the god Shiva) he became greatly excited.
At about the same time he came across a copy of Sekkilar's Periyapuranam, a book that describes the lives of Shaivite saints, and became fascinated by it.
In the middle of 1896, at age 16, he was suddenly overcome by the feeling that he was about to die. He lay down on the floor, made his body stiff, and held his breath. "My body is dead now," he said to himself, "but I am still alive." In a flood of spiritual awareness he realized he was spirit, not his body. He exclaimed:
8
From that moment onwards the 'I' or
Self focused attention on itself by a
powerful fascination. Fear of death had
vanished once and for all. Absorption in
the Self continued unbroken from that
time on. Whether the body was engaged
in talking, reading or anything else, I
was still centered on 'I'.
9
About His Self-realization (2)
I knew nothing, had learned nothing before I came here. Some mysterious power took possession of me and effected a thorough transformation. I knew nothing and planned nothing.
When I left home in my 17th year, I was like a speck swept on by a tremendous flood. I knew not my body or the world, whether it was day or night. It was difficult even to open my eyes. The eyelids seemed to be glued down. My body became a mere skeleton. Visitors pitied my plight as they were not aware how blissful I was.
It was after years that I came across the term Brahman when I happened to look into some books on Vedanta brought to me. Amused, I said to myself, 'Is this known as Brahman!?!’
10
Tiruvannamalai & its Temple
11
His Guru – the Holy Mountain Arunachala
Ramana Maharshi didn't
have a human guru (other
than “the guru” within
himself).
He often said that his
guru was Arunachala, a
holy mountain in South
India, near the town
Tiruvannamalai.
12
The Legend of Arunachala
In the legend of Arunachala, Vishnu represents the ego or individuality and Brahma the mentality, while Shiva is Atma, the Spirit. The main purport of the legend is that Shiva once appeared as an infinite column of light. Because the column of Light was so dazzling and impossible to look upon, both Brahma and Vishnu prayed to Shiva to take a more benevolent and accessible form so that all beings could worship Him and realize the goal of life. Shiva accordingly took the form of the Arunachala Hill, declaring:
13
Shiva accordingly took the form of the
Arunachala Hill, declaring:
"As the moon derives its light from the sun, so
other holy places will 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."
14
Kartikai is that day of the year when the constellation
of Kartikai (the Pleiades) is in conjunction with the
full moon - usually in November. On that night each
year a huge bonfire is built on top of the hill and
appears from a distance as a great fiery beacon. It is
observed throughout the area and especially by the
thousands of devotees who circumambulate the hill,
like a living garland, slowly moving along the eight
mile trail that surrounds the base of the holy hill.
15
His Teaching Method
Ramana Maharshi taught a method called self-
enquiry, in which the seeker focuses continuous
attention on the I-thought, in order to find its
source, asking the question (koan?) Who am I?
In the beginning this requires effort, but
eventually something deeper than the ego takes
over and the mind dissolves in the heart center.
16
His Best-known Quotes (1)
Ask yourself “Who am I?” - and pursue this
enquiry to its source. Knowing the pure Self
is moksha, liberation from ignorance and
suffering.
17
His Best-known Quotes (2)
Our real nature is mukti (the liberated state). But
we are imagining that we are bound and are
making various strenuous attempts to become free,
while we are free all the time.
Destroy the power of mind by seeking it. When the
mind is examined, its activities cease
automatically. Look for the source of mind. That
source may be said to be God or Self or
Consciousness. Concentrating on one thought, all
other thoughts disappear; finally that thought also
disappears.
18
His Best-known Quotes (3)
If a man considers he is born he cannot avoid
the fear of death. Let him find out if he has
been born or if the Self has any birth. He will
discover that the Self always exists, that the
body which is born resolves itself into thought
and that the emergence of thought is the root
of all mischief. Find where from thoughts
emerge. Then you will abide in the ever-
present inmost Self and be free from the idea
of birth or the fear of death.
19
His Dialogues (1)
Q. What happens to the consciousness of a
Realized one in sleep?
A. Such a question arises only in the minds of
unrealized beholders. He [who is realised] has but
One state, which is unbroken throughout all 24
hours, whether in what you call sleeping, or in
waking. As a matter of fact the majority of people
are all asleep, because they are not awake to the
Self.
In a state of deep sleep we lay down our ego
(Ahankara), our thoughts and our desires. If we
could only do all this while we are conscious, we
would realize the Self.
20
The best form of Dhyana or Meditation is when
it continues not merely in waking but extends to
dream and deep sleep states. This mediation
must be so intense as to not even allow room for
the idea "I am meditation." As waking and
dreaming are fully occupied by the Dhyana of
such a person, deep sleep may be considered to
be part of the Dhyana.
21
His Dialogues (2)
Sannyas is the giving up of the ego; even though a person may be living as a householder within a family circle, the various occurrences of the world will not affect him if his ego is surrendered. Hence dream experiences do not really affect us. The dreamer as he quietly lies in his bed dreams he is in water, but his bed is not really wet. On the other hand, a person though remaining in a Sanyasa ashrama who still has attachment to the body, is a karmi (man of action, not renunciation).
22
His Dialogues (3)
Q. It is not so with the appearance of the world. Even after it is repeatedly declared to be false, one cannot avoid satisfying his wants from the world. How can the world be false?
A. It is like one satisfying his dream wants by dream creations. There are objects, there are wants and there are mutual satisfactions. The dream creations are as purposeful as the jagrat world and yet is not considered real. Thus we see that all these illustrations serve a purpose in establishing the stages of unreality. The realized sage finally declares that in the regenerate state, the jagrat state is. Each illustration should be understood in the proper context; it should not be studied as an isolated statement. It is a link in a chain. The purpose of all these illustrations is to direct the seeker's mind towards the One reality underlying them all.
23
His Dialogues (4)
Q. In the West people cannot see how sages in solitude can be helpful.
A. Never mind Europe and America. Where are they except in your mind? If you wake up from a dream, do you try to ascertain if the persons of your dream creation are also awake?
Q. If sleep be such a good state, why does one not like to be always in it?
A. One is always in sleep only. The present waking state is no more that a dream. A dream can take place only in sleep. Sleep underlies these states. The appearance of a state is again a dream which is in its turn, in another sleep. In this way, these states of dream and sleep are endless. Similar to these states, birth and death are also dreams in a sleep.
24
After sleep ego arises and there is wakefulness.
Simultaneously thoughts arise. Where from?
They must spring from the conscious Self.
Apprehending this even vaguely helps in the
extinction of the ego, after which is realization
of the ONE INFINITE EXISTENCE. In that
state there are no individuals other than the
Eternal Existence. Abide in the ever inherent
Self and be free from the idea of birth or fear of
death.
25
Some Books About Sri Ramana Maharshi (1)
This superb compilation of Ramana Maharshi's writings and
dialogues is the best available single volume about his
teachings. It covers all aspects of Sri Ramana's teachings and
arranges them in the order preferred by Sri Ramana himself,
with the most important or highest teachings first.
This small book contains the best English translation of
Ramana Maharshi's most important work and the most
sophisticated academic discussion of Ramana Maharshi's
teachings that have been done to date. The book's author,
T.M.P. Mahadevan, was a devotee of Ramana Maharshi and
a distinguished academic expert on Advaita.
26
Some Books about Sri Ramana Maharshi (2)
For serious students of Sri Ramana Maharshi, this is the
Bible, the most comprehensive single volume of Sri
Ramana's teachings. It contains 668 pages of transcripts of
conversations he held between 1935 and 1939 with visitors
who traveled to south India from all over the world to ask
for advice from the man whom many regard as the greatest
realized teacher of the twentieth century.
The definitive version of Sri Ramana Maharshi's teachings is
contained in his writings such as Forty Verses on Reality.
Unfortunately, his works aren't easy to read. Most of them are
written in a terse, classical style of Tamil poetry which is not
easily understood even by many educated Tamils. In order to
understand him, most of us must therefore rely on translations
and commentaries. This book is possibly the best of that kind
because it was written by a skilled Tamil poet who was also a
close disciple of Sri Ramana Maharshi.
27
Group Photo
28
Recent Photos of Arunachala & Ramanashramam
30
Ivan Frimmel presents