It is so hard to teach others how to become self-realized
for three reasons: a primary identification with the body/mind, which becomes
habit and ingrained (Vasanas), and finally mental concepts, or better,
misconceptions of who and what you are.
In the end, to realize who you are as a body/mind centered
entity, you have to stop looking outwards and look inwards. Then, when at a
very deep point, you need to turn around from that inner place, and once again
look outwards.
There will come a time that when you do this, you will
realize you have always been the Self looking outwards from the noumenal into
the phenomenal, from nothingness into somethingness even though you will also see that nothingness too is also phenomena. At first you'll feel as if you are nothingness, then later, also the somethingness. But in no event are the body/mind, at leasts at first.
Once you know this, you will always be aware of your Self as
a fascinating mystery and vast energy, and your attention will fix on that inner
self, which one day will result in the visitation of the divine aspect of Self.
You as you are also God.
This is what the various types of self-inquiry methods direct you too: going within, resting in the sense of self that fills emptiness.
The below is from "Living by the Words of
Bhagavan" page 293.
Bhagavan once said to me :’The one who limits the Self by
believing himself to be the body and the mind has ‘killed’ his own Self. For
killing the Self he has to be punished. The punishment is birth and death and
continuous misery.
Q.: Is the ending of misery determined by prarabdha karma,
or can we bring it nearer by personal effort?
Annamalai Swami: The misery comes to an end only by
realizing the Self, not by any other means.
Q: Can this happen at any time?
AS: Here and now you are already the Self. You don’t need
time to realize it, all you need is correct understanding. Each moment you
identify yourself with the body and the mind, you are going in the direction of
ego and misery. The moment you give up that identification, you are moving
towards your real Self, towards happiness.
Q: … If I try to generate this feeling ‘I am the Self’’ it
will not be the real thing. It will be just another idea in the mind. Can
thinking about this idea really help me?
AS: When I say, ‘Meditate on the Self’ I am asking you to be
the Self, not think about it. Be aware of what remains when thoughts stop. Be
aware of the consciousness that is the origin of all your thoughts. Be that
consciousness. Feel that this is what you really are. If you do this you are
meditating on the Self. But if you cannot stabilize in that consciousness
because your vasanas are too strong and too active, it is beneficial to hold
onto the thought, ‘I am the Self; I am everything.’ If you meditate in this way
you will not be cooperating with the vasanas that are blocking your
Self-awareness. If you don’t cooperate with them, sooner or later they are
bound to leave you.
Ha Ha, This Blog is No-thing. Did you read the title to it? 'Its Not Real". Well what is not real? The reader actually wrote every word printed here. Ed never existed and Ed is really you the reader. You wrote this to help yourself. Are you helping yourself? Who's eyes are reading this screen. Your Blog is the funniest thing in the Universe. It is a fun game to be played by all. Your talking to the Guru here, your talking to yourself. Ed is dead. When you go deep deep inside that dead Ed is there and he will instill a love and awakening that you will realize you are him. He is always with you and ever present in your existence. Spend time with him and you will realize your not in any argument with someone else only yourself. Such a game and such fun. Give yourself a long Indian name, cut your hair, call yourself a man or even a woman or a professor. Your none of these because your the real Ed. Love yourself. You have to laugh at absolutely everything written here because you typed every word. Even the name and what name was that? steve
ReplyDeleteVery interesting. I reckon that 'Living by the Words of Bhagavan' is one of the most interesting books about Shri Ramana. Annamalai Swami's accounts of the ashram life through the 30's and 40's are riveting, and his words about the Self seem spot on too. I didn't realize that Annamalai Swami had formed his own small ashram (or at least the ashram had formed around him?), almost adjoining Ramanasramam, till I stumbled across it while visiting Ramanasramam a few months ago. People seem to be looking after it, and his samadhi (grave) is there too.
ReplyDelete