WHO AM I?

Very small book...Read it and u will come know to know the purest form of Spiritual Knowledge...No theories, no jargons and no mysteries.  Spiritual laws have been explained in very simple way.  The cost of the book is Rs.7/- and 16 Pages.

• “Who am I?” can be summarized as the core concept of the teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.
• The “I” thought is the first to arise in the mind.  When the enquiry “Who am I?” is persistently pursued, all other thoughts get destroyed, and finally the “I” thought itself vanished leaving the supreme non-dual Self alone. 
• When the false identification of the Self with the phenomena of non-self such as the body and mind, ends, then there will be an illumination.
• Body changes, Mind changes, Karma changes, Spirit also changes (otherwise it cannot be merged in Supreme Power or God).  If “I” am not the body, mind, karma or soul, then what am “I”? As seers said, We are Supreme Power.
• The process of enquiry is not an easy one.  As one enquires, “Who am I?”, other thoughts will arise and one should not yield to them  and ask oneself “To whom do these thoughts arise?”.
• Through constant enquiry one should make the mind stay in its source, without allowing it to wander away and get lost in the mazes of thought created by itself.
• There are many methods practised by different people such as chanting, meditation, yoga and other disciplines only to train the mind to stay on single source of thought and improve concentration.
• “CONCENTRATION & NO THOUGHT” are the basic foundations for spirituality.  No growth in spiritual path unless we have these both.
• As we go on identifying and knowing what is real and unreal (thoughts which are real and unreal pertaining to you), u will not entertain unnecessary thoughts by which you slowly destroy the thoughts and the Self is realized.
• ‘Not this’ – if u can do this for every thought or idea u get, then not only u can control urself from unnecessary thoughts but also will get the best thought for a particular problem or situation.
• The problem of man is that he is not actually what he thinks and is far away from reality. We assume, guess and feel about ourselves which is always far from truth.
• When the world (feelings, emotions, expectations, realizations, etc.) which is what is seen has been removed, there will be realization of the Self.
• Mind causes all thoughts.  Apart from thoughts, there is no such thing as mind.  In deep sleep there are no thoughts and there is no world.  When the mind comes out of the Self, the world appears.  Therefore, when the world appears (to be real), the Self does not appear; and when the Self appears (shines) the world does not appear.  When one persistently inquires into the nature of the mind, the mind will end leaving the Self (as the residue).  What is referred to as the Self is the Atman.  The mind always exists only in dependence on something gross and cannot stay alone.  It is the mind that is called the subtle body or the soul (jiva). (Can anyone explain this in more simple way and in depth…pls.).
• That which rises as “I” in this body is the mind.
• Thought = I = Mind = Heart.
• Arises = arises = arises = stay in
• To whom has this thought arised? To body, to mind, to ego, to inferiority complex in us, to self image, to your social reputation….check every thought in this manner, then u will have a clear understanding of your emotions.
• Classify every thought as to whom – mind OK – But is this thought related to Body, Mind, Senses, Ego, hatred, love, passion, self image, inferiority complex, customs, past experience or your expectations.
• Thought arises -> to whom has this thought arise -> Answer is me -> who am I? -> Mind -> which type of emotions this mind is having at present -> Emotions of body, ego, senses, hatred, love, passion, self image, inferiority complex, customs, past experiences or your expectations.
• When thoughts arise, one should not pursue them, but should inquire “to whom do they arise? And what type of thoughts are they?” When you question your thoughts without any attachment and see them as they are, those thoughts and their effects on you will go away.  Then that moment that thought dies away.  As soon as a thought dies, mind will fall on another or new thought. Then u has to handle in it in the same way.  The time between the death of a thought and birth of a thought is the most valuable to us.  This stage of no thought is what we all desire and are trying all types of methods only to retain that stage.  As u increase this ‘no thought stage’ u will go INTERNALLY more and more and EXTERNALLY less and less.  Continued practice is what is required to RETAIN this stage and many people spent all their life time for this gain mastery of this stage.  This stage is the most important stage for meditator and is the foundation for all other spiritual practices.
• When the mind becomes quiescent, the breath is controlled and when the breath is controlled, the mind becomes quiescent.
• Q: one pointed concentration is accepting only one thought and rejecting all other thoughts.  Though one is accepting a single thought or mantra or image, he is rejecting all others.  So it brings the person almost to the same place of “Who am I?” method?
• Through meditation on the forms of God and through repetition of mantras, the mind becomes one-pointed.  When the mind is occupied with a name or form, it will grasp that alone.  When the mind expands in the form of countless thoughts, each thought becomes weak; but as thoughts get resolved the mind becomes one-pointed and strong.
• Without yielding to the doubt ‘Is it possible or not?’ one should persistently hold on to the meditation of the Self.
• Try not thinking of the Results.  Try and Try inspite of many failures.
• One should completely renounce the thought “I am a sinner” and concentrate keenly on meditation of the Self; then one would surely succeed.
• Mind is only one.  It is the residual impressions that are of two kinds – auspicious and inauspicious.  When the mind is under the influence of auspicious impressions it is called good; and when it is under the influence of inauspicious impressions it is regarded as evil.
• The mind should not be allowed to wander towards worldly objects and what concerns other people.
• All that one gives to others one gives to one’s self.
• As thoughts arise, they should be destroyed then and there in the very place of their origin, through inquiry.
• The Self is that where there is absolutely no ‘I’ thought. That is called “Silence”.
• Giving one’s self up to God means remaining constantly in the Self without giving room for the rise of any thoughts other than that of the Self.
• Bhakti Marg: Whatever burdens are thrown on God, He bears them.  Since the supreme power of God makes all things move, why should we, without submitting ourselves to it, constantly worry ourselves with thoughts as to what should be done and how and what should not be done and how not?  We know the train carries all loads, so after getting on it why should we carry our small luggage on our head to our discomfort, instead of putting it down in the train and feeling at ease?
• As thoughts arise, destroying them utterly without any residue in the very place of their origin is non-attachment.
• One can know oneself only with one’s own eye of knowledge and not with somebody else’s.
• There will come a time when one will have to forget all that one has learned.
• 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.
• When the object desired is obtained or the object disliked is removed, the mind becomes inward-turned and enjoys pure Self-Happiness.
• What is called the world is only a thought.
• When there is no thought, the mind experiences happiness and when the thought appears, it goes through misery.
• Remaining quiet is what is called wisdom-insight.  To remain quiet is to resolve the mind in the Self.
• Desirelessness is refraining from turning the mind towards any object. 

For more information and guidance, visit  http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org or ashram@sriramanamaharshi.org

Note – The above points are notes I have scrubbed down while reading the book “Who am I?” published by Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai. I am blogging this material only to encourage the readers who see my blog to read the book and is not meant for any commercial purpose. It is just sharing information about a good book.

Regards,

Tirumalanath

tirumalanath@gmail.com

  

The Maharshi and His Message by Paul Brunton

The Maharshi and His Message by Paul Brunton.

Published by Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai

Ramana Maharshi guidance:

1.       Know first that ‘I’ and then you shall know the truth.

2.       There is only one thing to be done.  Look into your own self.  Do this in the right way and you shall find the answer to all your problems.

3.       Through deep reflection on the nature of one’s self and through constant meditation, the light can be found.

4.       How do you know that no progress has been made?  It is not easy to perceive one’s progress in the spiritual realm.

5.       Guru can give his discipline all that he needs for his quest. 

6.       Getting enlightenment depends upon the maturity of the seeker’s mind.  The gun powder catches fire in an instant, while much time is needed to set fire to the coal.

7.       Why should you trouble yourself about the future? You do not even properly know about the present!  Take care of the present; the future will then take care of itself.

8.       As you are, so is the world.  Without understanding yourself, what is the use of trying to understand the world?  People waste their energies over all such questions.  First, find out the truth behind yourself; then you will be in a better position to understand the truth behind the world, of which yourself is a part.

9.       When you go back there, you shall have this peace which you now feel, but its price will be that you shall henceforth can’t aside the idea that you are this body or this brain.  When this peace will flow into you, then you shall have to forget your own self, for you will have turned your life over to THAT.

10.   The life of action need not be renounced.  If you will meditate for an hour or two every day, you can then carry on with your duties.  If you meditate in the right manner, then the current of mind induced will continue to flow even in the midst of your work.  It is as though there were two ways of expressing the same idea; the same line which you take in meditation will be expressed in your activities.

11.   As you go on you will find that your attitude towards people, events and objects will gradually change.  Your actions will tend to follow your meditations of their own accord.

12.   A man should surrender the personal selfishness which binds him to this world.  Giving up the false self is the true renunciation.

13.   You have to ask yourself the question, ‘Who am I?  This investigation will lead in the end to the discovery of something within you which is behind the mind.  Solve that great problem, and you will solve all other problems thereby?

14.   Man’s real nature is happiness.  Happiness is inborn in the true self.  His search for happiness is an unconscious search for his true self.  The true Self is imperishable; therefore when a man finds it, he finds a happiness which does not come to an end.  All men, without exception, are consciously or unconsciously seeking happiness.  Even a sinner is trying to find the Self’s happiness in every sin which they commit.  This striving is instinctive in man, but they do not know that they are really seeking their true selves, and so they try these wicked ways first as a means to happiness.  Of course, they are wrong ways, for a man’s acts are reflected back to him.

15.   To understand SELF, it is first necessary for a man to analyse himself.  Because it has long been his habit to think as others think, he has never faced his ‘I’ in the true manner.  He has not a correct picture of himself; he has too long identified himself with the body and the brain.  Therefore, I tell you to pursue this enquiry, “Who am I”.

16.   The first and foremost of all thoughts, the primeval thought in the mind of every man, is the thought ‘I’.  It is only after the birth of this thought that any other thoughts can arise at all.  It is only after the first personal pronoun ‘I’ has arisen in the mind that the personal pronoun ‘you’ can make its appearance.  If you could mentally follow the ‘I’ thread until it leads you back to its source, you would discover that, just as it is the first thought to appear, so is it the last to disappear.  This is a matter which can be experienced.  It is possible to go inwards until the last thought ‘I’ gradually vanishes.

17.   The sense of ‘I’ pertains to the person, the body and the brain.  When a man knows his true Self for the first time, something else arises from the depths of his being and takes possession of him.   That something is behind the mind; it is infinite, divine, eternal.  Some people call it the kingdom of heaven, others call it the soul, still others name it Nirvana, and we Hindus call it Liberation; you may give it what name you wish.  When this happens, a man has not really lost himself; rather, he has found himself.

18.   ‘Who am I?, if you begin to perceive that neither the body nor the brain nor the desires are really you, then the very attitude of enquiry will eventually draw the answer to you out of the depths of your own beings; it will come to you of its own accord as a deep realization.

19.   Know the real Self and then the truth will shine forth within your heart like sunshine.  The mind will become untroubled and real happiness will flood it; for happiness and the true self are identical.  You will have no more doubts once you attain this Self-awareness.

20.   The greatest error of a man is to think that he is weak by nature, evil by nature.  Every man is divine and strong in his real nature.  What are weak and evil are his habits, his desires and thoughts, but not himself.

21.   Who am I?

Am I this body of flesh, blood and bone?

Am I the mind, the thoughts and the feelings which distinguish me from every other person?

22.   Pursue the enquiry ‘Who am I? Relentlessly.  Analyse your entire personality.  Try to find out where the I-thought begins.  Go on with your meditations.  Keep turning your attention within.  One day the wheel of thought will slow down and an intuition will mysteriously arise. Follow that intuition let your thinking stop, and it will eventually lead you to the goal.

23.   Trace thought to its place of origin.  Watch for the real Self to reveal itself, and then your thoughts will die down on their own accord.

‘The Maharshi and His Message’ is a small book of around 80 pages which are the extracts of three chapters from the Paul Brunton’s ‘A Search in Secret India’ book.  This book starts with the invitation to Brunton to visit Tiruvannamalai from a disciple of Ramana Maharshi and explains about all the personal experiences and discussions he had with Maharshi.

I like the second chapter “The Hill of the Holy Beacon” more.

Source: The Maharshi and His Message – Paul Brunton.  Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai.  Price Rs.20/-. Pages – 77.

For more information and guidance, visit www. ramana-maharshi.org  or ashram@ramana-maharshi.org

Disclaimer – The above points are notes I have scrubbed down while reading the book “The Maharshi and His Message” written by Paul Brunton. I am blogging this material only to encourage the readers who see my blog to read the book and is not meant for any commercial purpose. It is just sharing information about a good book.

Regards,

Tirumalanath

tirumalanath@gmail.com