That which rises and sets is the ego; that which remains changeless is the Self.

Ramana Maharishi:  How were you in your deep sleep?

Devotee:  I do not know.

Ramana Maharishi:  Who does not know? Is it not the waking Self? Do you deny your existence in your deep sleep?

Devotee:  I was and I am; but I do not know who was in deep sleep.

Ramana Maharishi:  Exactly. The man awake says that he did not know anything in the state of sleep. Now he sees the objects and knows that he is there; whereas in deep sleep there were no objects, no spectator, etc. The same one who is now speaking was in deep sleep also. What is the difference between these two states? There are objects and play of senses now which were not in sleep. A new entity, the ego, has risen up in the meantime, it plays through the senses, sees the objects, confounds itself with the body and says that the Self is the ego. In reality, what was in deep sleep continues to exist now too. The Self is changeless. It is the ego that has come between. That which rises and sets is the ego; that which remains changeless is the Self.

One’s course of conduct in this life is determined by one’s prarabdha.

Devotee: Why did you then leave your home in your youth?

Ramana Maharishi: That is my prarabdha (fate). One’s course of conduct in this life is determined by one’s prarabdha. My prarabdha is this way. Your prarabdha is that way.

Devotee:  Should I not also renounce?

Ramana Maharishi:  If that had been your prarabdha, the question would not have arisen

Reality and myth are both the same

One of the attendants asked: Sri Bhagavan has said: ‘Reality and myth are both the same’. How is it so?

Ramana Maharishi: The tantriks and others of the kind condemn Sri Sankara’s philosophy as maya vada without understanding him aright. What does he say? He says: (1) Brahman is real; (2) the universe is a myth; (3) Brahman is the universe. He does not stop at the second statement but continues to supplement it with the third. What does it signify? The Universe is conceived to be apart from Brahman and that perception is wrong.The antagonists point to his illustration of rajju sarpa (rope snake). This is unconditioned superimposition. After the truth of the rope is known, the illusion of snake is removed once for all. But they should take the conditioned superimposition also into consideration, e.g., marumarichika or mrigatrishna (water of mirage). The mirage does not disappear even after knowing it to be a mirage. The vision is there but the man does not run to it for water. Sri Sankara must be understood in the light of both the illustrations. The world is a myth. Even after knowing it, it continues to appear.It must be known to be Brahman and not apart. If the world appears, yet to whom does it appear, he asks. What is your reply? You must say the Self. If not, will the world appear in the absence of the cognising Self? Therefore the Self is the reality.That is his conclusion. The phenomena are real as the Self and are myths apart from the Self.  Now, what do the tantriks, etc., say? They say that the phenomena are real because they are part of the Reality in which they appear. Are not these two statements the same? That is what I meant by reality and falsehood being one and the same. The antagonists continue: With the conditioned as well as the unconditioned illusions considered, the phenomenon of water in mirage is purely illusory because that water cannot be used for any purpose. Whereas the phenomenon of the world is different, for it is purposeful. How then does the latter stand on a par with the former?

A phenomenon cannot be a reality simply because it serves a purpose or purposes. Take a dream for example. The dream creations are purposeful; they serve the dream-purpose. The dream water quenches dream thirst. The dream creation is however contradicted in the waking state. The waking creation is contradicted in the other two states. What is not continuous cannot be real. If real, the thing must ever be real - and not real for a short time and unreal at other times. So it is with magical creations. They appear real and are yet illusory. Similarly the universe cannot be real of itself - that is to say, apart from the underlying Reality.  There is fire on the screen in a cinema show. Does it burn the screen? There is a cascade of water. Does it wet the screen? There are tools. Do they damage the screen? That is why it is said achchedyoyam, adahyoyam, akledhyoyam, etc. Fire, water, etc. are phenomena on the screen of Brahman (i.e., the Self) and they do not affect It.

The Supreme Spirit is subtler than the subtlest and larger than the largest.

A question was asked about the Upanishadic passage, “The Supreme Spirit is subtler than the subtlest and larger than the largest.”

Ramana Maharisihi: Even the structure of the atom has been found by the mind. Therefore the mind is subtler than the atom. That which is behind the mind, namely the individual soul, is subtler than the mind.

That which is born must die; that which is acquired must be lost. Were you born? You are ever existent.

Devotee: What does Bhagavan think of the “lost soul” mentioned by Jesus Christ?

Ramana Maharishi:  Think what there is to be lost. Is there anything to lose? What matters is only that which is natural. Such must be eternal and cannot be experienced. That which is born must die; that which is acquired must be lost. Were you born? You are ever existent. The Self can never be lost.

See to whom the doubts arise. Go to their source and abide in it. Then they cease to arise.

Devotee:  Doubts are always arising. Hence my question.

Ramana Maharishi:  A doubt arises and is cleared; another arises and that is cleared, making way for another, and so it goes on. So there is no possibility of clearing away all doubts. See to whom the doubts arise. Go to their source and abide in it. Then they cease to arise. That is how doubts are to be cleared. Atma samstham manah krtva na kinchidapi chintayet.

How shall I overcome my passions?

Devotee:  How shall I overcome my passions?

Ramana Maharishi:  Find their root and then it will be easy. (Later) What are the passions? Kama (lust), krodha (anger), etc. Why do they arise? Because of likes and dislikes towards the objects seen. How do the objects project themselves in your view? Because of your avidya, i.e., ignorance. Ignorance of what? Of the Self. Thus, if you find the Self and abide therein there will be no trouble owing to the passions. (Later) Again, what is the cause of the passions? Desire to be happy or enjoy pleasure. Why does the desire for happiness arise? Because your nature is happiness itself and it is natural that you come into your own. This happiness is not found anywhere besides the Self. Do not look for it elsewhere. But seek the Self and abide therein. Still again, that happiness which is natural is simply re-discovered, so it cannot be lost. Whereas the happiness arising from other objects are external and thus liable to be lost. Therefore it cannot be permanent and so it is not worth seeking. Moreover craving for pleasures should not be encouraged. One cannot put out burning fire by pouring petrol over it. An attempt to satisfy your craving for the time being, so that the passion may later be suppressed, is simply foolish. There are, no doubt, other methods for the suppression of passion. They are (1) regulated food, (2) fasting, (3) yoga practice, (4) medicines. But their effects are transitory. The passions reappear with greater force as soon as the check is removed. The only way to overcome them is to eradicate them. That is done by finding their source as stated above.

What is visishtadvaita?

Devotee: What is visishtadvaita?

Ramana Maharishi:  The same as this.

Devotee:  They do not admit maya?

Ramana Maharishi:  Sarvam is Brahman, we say. They repeat Brahman remains qualified (visishta) in all.

Devotee:  They say that the world is a reality.

Ramana Maharishi:  We say so too. Acharya has only said, “Find out the reality behind the world.” What is called illusion by one is called changefulness by another. The end is the same in both.

How will worldly transaction go on if one observes silence?

Devotee: How will worldly transaction go on if one observes silence?

Ramana Maharishi: When women walk with water pots on their heads and chat with their companions they remain very careful, their thoughts concentrated on the loads on their heads. Similarly when a sage engages in activities, these do not disturb him because his mind abides in Brahman.

Posture really means location and steadfastness in the Self. It is internal. The others refer to external positions.

Devotee:  What are the properties and effects of the tiger’s skin, wool, or deer-skin, etc.?

Ramana Maharishi:  Some have found them out and related them in Yoga books. They correspond to conductors and non-conductors of magnetism, etc. But it is all immaterial for the Path of Knowledge (Jnana Marga).   Posture really means location and steadfastness in the Self. It is internal. The others refer to external positions.

When you realise the Self on which these phenomena pass, will you love or hate them? That is the meaning of indifference.

Devotee: Should we understand the world as transient (anitya)?

Ramana Maharishi:  Why so? Because you are now considering it to be permanent (nitya) the Scriptures tell you that it is not so in order to wean you from wrong ideas. This should be done by knowing yourself to be eternal (nitya) and not by branding the world as transitory (anitya).

Devotee:  We are told to practise indifference (udasina) which is possible only if the world is unreal.

Ramana Maharishi:  Yes. Oudasinyam abhipsitam. Indifference is advised. But what is it? It is absence of love and hatred. When you realise the Self on which these phenomena pass, will you love or hate them? That is the meaning of indifference.

In fact, there is no difference between bhakti and vichara

Ramana Maharishi:  So long as there is duality, there must be God and devotee. Similarly also in vichara. So long as there is vichara, there is duality too. But merging into the Source there is unity only. So it is with bhakti too. Realising the God of devotion, there will be unity only. God too is thought of in and by the Self. So God is identical with the Self. If one is told to have bhakti for God and he does so straightaway, it is all right. But there is another kind of man who turns round and says: “There are two, I and God. Before knowing the far-off God, let me know the more immediate and intimate ‘I’.” For him the vichara-marga has to be taught. There is in fact no difference between bhakti and vichara.

Latent impressions of previous births

A young prodigy was mentioned. Sri Bhagavan remarked that latent impressions of previous births (purva janma samskara) were strong in him.

Devotee:  How does it manifest as the ability to cite well-known saints? Is it vasana in the form of a seed only?

Ramana Maharishi:  Yes. Predisposition (samskara) is acquired knowledge and kept in stock. It manifests under favourable circumstances. One with strong samskara understands the thing when presented to him much quicker than another with no samskara or weak samskara.

Devotee:  Does it hold good with inventors also?

Ramana Maharishi:  “There is nothing new under the sun.” What we call inventions or discoveries are merely rediscoveries by competent men with strong samskara in the directions under consideration.

Devotee:  Is it so with Newton, Einstein, etc.?

Ramana Maharishi:  Yes. Certainly. But the samskaras, however strong, will not manifest unless in a calm and still mind. It is within the experience of everyone that his attempts to rake up his memory fail, whereas something flashes in the mind when he is calm and quiet. Mental quiet is necessary even for remembrance of forgotten things. The so-called genius is one who worked hard in his past births and acquired knowledge and kept it in store as samskaras. He now concentrates his mind until it merges in the subject. In that stillness the submerged ideas flash out. That requires favourable conditions also.

Do not make a grievance of what may not please you, when you have surrendered.

Devotee:  We surrender; but still there is no help.

Ramana Maharishi:  Yes. If you have surrendered, you must be able to abide by the will of God and not make a grievance of what may not please you.  Things may turn out differently from what they look apparently.  Distress often leads men to faith in God.

Devotee:  But we are worldly. There is the wife, there are the children, friends and relatives. We cannot ignore their existence and resign ourselves to Divine Will, without retaining some little of the personality in us.

Ramana Maharishi:  That means you have not surrendered as professed by you. You must only trust God.

Silent initiation is the highest form of initiation

A passage from the Yoga Vasishtha was read out before Sri Bhagavan, indicating initiation by look and initiation by touch. Sri Bhagavan observed: Dakshinamurti observed silence when the disciples approached Him. That is the highest form of initiation. It includes the other forms. There must be subject-object relationship established in the other dikshas. First the subject must emanate and then the object. Unless these two are there how is the one to look at the other or touch him? Mowna diksha is the most perfect; it comprises looking, touching and teaching. It will purify the individual in every way and establish him in the Reality.

What is Renunciation?

Devotee:  What is Renunciation?

Ramana Maharishi:  Giving up of the ego.

Devotee:  Is it not giving up possessions?

Ramana Maharishi:  The possessor too.

Devotee:  The world will change if the people will give up their possessions for the benefit of others.

Ramana Maharishi:  First give yourself up and then think of the rest.

Is there any moment when Self is not? It is not new.

Devotee:  What effort is necessary for reaching the Self?

Ramana Maharishi: ‘I’ should be destroyed. Self is not to be reached. Is there any moment when Self is not? It is not new. Be as you are. What is new cannot be permanent. What is real must always exist.

What is the relation between bhakti and jnana?

Devotee:  What is the relation between bhakti and jnana?

Ramana Maharishi:  Eternal, unbroken, natural state is jnana. Does it not imply love of Self? Is it not bhakti?

What is the difference between meditation (dhyana) and investigation (vichara)?

Devotee:  What is the difference between meditation (dhyana) and investigation (vichara)?

Ramana Maharishi:  Both amount to the same. Those unfit for investigation must practise meditation. In this practice the aspirant forgetting himself meditates ‘I am Brahman’ or ‘I am Siva’; thus he continues to hold to Brahman or Siva; this will ultimately end on the residual Being as Brahman or Siva which he will realise to be Pure Being, i.e. the Self. He who engages in investigation starts holding on to himself, asks ‘Who am I?’ and the Self becomes clear to him.

It might have been sages fate (prarabdha) to develop such powers (siddhis) side by side with their wisdom (jnana). Why should you aim at that which is not essential but apt to prove a hindrance to wisdom (jnana)?

Devotee:  Is it not necessary or at least advantageous to render the body invisible in one’s spiritual progress?

Ramana Maharishi:  Why do you think of that? Are you the body?

Devotee:  No. But advanced spirituality must effect a change in the body. Is it not so?

Ramana Maharishi:  What change do you desire in the body, and why?

Devotee:  Is not invisibility evidence of advanced Wisdom (jnana)?

Ramana Maharishi:  In that case, all those who spoke, who wrote and who passed their lives in the sight of others must be considered ignorant (ajnanis)!

Devotee:  But the sages Vasistha and Valmiki possessed such powers?

Ramana Maharishi:  It might have been their fate (prarabdha) to develop such powers (siddhis) side by side with their wisdom (jnana). Why should you aim at that which is not essential but apt to prove a hindrance to wisdom (jnana)? Does the Sage (Jnani) feel oppressed by his body being visible?

Devotee:  No.

Ramana Maharishi:  A hypnotist can render himself suddenly invisible. Is he therefore a Sage (Jnani)?

Devotee:  No.

Ramana Maharishi:  Visibility and invisibility refer to a seer. Who is that seer? Solve that first. Other matters are unimportant.

Repetition of the name of God is remembrance of what it signifies

Devotee:  People give some names to God and say that the name is sacred and repetitions of the name bestow merit on the individual. Can it be true?

Ramana Maharishi:  Why not? You bear a name to which you answer. But your body was not born with that name written on it, nor did it say to anyone that it bore such and such a name. And yet a name is given to you and you answer to that name, because you have identified yourself with the name. Therefore the name signifies something and it is not a mere fiction. Similarly, God’s name is effective. Repetition of the  name is remembrance of what it signifies. Hence its merit.

Heaven and hell - what are they?

Devotee:  Heaven and hell - what are they?

Ramana Maharishi:  You carry heaven and hell with you. Your lust, anger, etc., produce these regions. They are like dreams.

On foisting the bliss on to other things or happenings you are plunging into the Self, though unconsciously. If you do so consciously you call it Realisation.

Devotee:  Through poetry, music, japa, bhajan, beautiful landscapes, reading the lives of spiritual heroes, etc., one sometimes experiences a true sense of all-unity. Is that feeling of deep blissful quiet (wherein the personal self has no place) the “entering into the heart” whereof Bhagavan speaks? Will practice of that lead to a deeper samadhi, and so ultimately to a full vision of the Real?

Ramana Maharishi:  Again, there is happiness at agreeable sights, etc. It is the happiness inherent in the Self. That happiness is not alien and after. You are diving into the Pure Self on occasions which you consider pleasurable. That diving reveals the Self-existent Bliss.  But the association of ideas is responsible for foisting this bliss on to other things or happenings. In fact, it is within you. On these occasions you are plunging into the Self, though unconsciously. If you do so consciously you call it Realisation. I want you to dive consciously into the Self, i.e., into the Heart.

Mahatma's look has a purifying effect. The effect depends on the grades of men coming in contact with Mahatma.

Devotee:  It is said that one look of a Mahatma is enough; that  idols, pilgrimages, etc. are not so effective. I have been here for three months, but I do not know how I have been benefited by the look of Maharshi.

Ramana Maharishi:  The look has a purifying effect. Purification cannot be visualised. Just as a piece of coal takes long to be ignited, a piece of charcoal takes a short time, and a mass of gunpowder is instantaneously ignited, so it is with grades of men coming in contact with Mahatmas.

Neglecting the modes of mind, look for the light illumining them. The mind becomes still and the light remains self-shining.

Devotee:  It is said that the Self is beyond the mind and yet the realisation is with the mind. Mano na manute, Manasa na matam, and Manasaivedamaptavyam (The mind cannot think it. It cannot be thought of by the mind and the mind alone can realise it). How are these contradictions to be reconciled?

Ramana Maharishi:  Atman is realised with mruta manas (dead mind), i.e., mind devoid of thoughts and turned inward. Then the mind sees its own source and becomes That. It is not as the subject perceiving an object. When the room is dark a lamp is necessary to illumine and eyes to cognise objects. But when the sun is risen there is no need of a lamp, and the objects are seen; and to see the sun no lamp is necessary, it is enough that you turn your eyes towards the selfluminous sun.  Similarly with the mind. To see the objects the reflected light of the mind is necessary. To see the Heart it is enough that the mind is turned towards it. Then the mind loses itself and the Heart shines forth.

The modes of mind take shape as external objects and the light reflected on the modes illumines the objects. Now neglecting the modes of mind, look for the light illumining them. The mind becomes still and the light remains self-shining. The undulating mind (i.e., the mind associated with rajas = activity and tamas = darkness) is commonly known as the mind. Devoid of rajas and tamas, it is pure and selfshining. This is Self-Realisation. Therefore the mind is said to be the means for it.

Grace is vouchsafed only to him who is a true devotee or a yogin, who has striven hard and ceaselessly on the path towards freedom.

Devotee:  Whether Iswara Prasad (Divine Grace) is necessary for the attaining of samrajya (universal dominion) or whether a jiva’s honest and strenuous efforts to attain it cannot of themselves lead him to That from whence is no return to life and death?

Ramana Maharishi:  “Divine Grace is essential for Realisation. It leads one to God-realisation. But such Grace is vouchsafed only to him who is a true devotee or a yogin, who has striven hard and ceaselessly on the path towards freedom.”

Brahma-akara-vritti must be cultivated until it becomes sahaja (natural)

Devotee:  There is sometimes an irresistible desire to remain in Brahma-akara-vritti.

Ramana Maharishi:  It is good. It must be cultivated until it becomes sahaja (natural).  Then it culminates as swarupa, one’s own self.

If there be a goal to be reached it cannot be permanent.

In reply to a devotee, Sri Bhagavan said: The state of equanimity is the state of bliss. The declaration in the Vedas ‘I am This or That’, is only an aid to gain equanimity of mind.

Devotee:  So, it is wrong to begin with a goal: is it?

Ramana Maharishi:  If there be a goal to be reached it cannot be permanent. The goal must already be there. We seek to reach the goal with the ego, but the goal exists before the ego. What is in the goal is even prior to our birth, i.e., to the birth of the ego. Because we exist the ego appears to exist too.  If we look on the Self as the ego then we become the ego, if as the mind we become the mind, if as the body we become the body. It is the thought which builds up sheaths in so many ways. The shadow on the water is found to be shaking. Can anyone stop the shaking of the shadow? If it should cease to shake you would not notice the water but only the light. Similarly to take no notice of the ego and its activities, but see only the light behind. The ego is the I-thought. The true ‘I’ is the Self.

Will-power should be understood to be the strength of mind which makes it capable for meeting success or failure with equanimity.

Ramana Maharishi:  Your idea of will-power is success insured. Will-power should be understood to be the strength of mind which makes it capable for meeting success or failure with equanimity. It is not synonymous with certain success. Why should one’s attempts be always attended with success? Success develops arrogance and the man’s spiritual progress is thus arrested. Failure on the other hand is beneficial, inasmuch as it opens the eyes of the man to his limitations and prepares him to surrender himself. Self-surrender is synonymous with eternal happiness. Therefore one should try to gain the equipoise of mind under all circumstances. That is will-power. Again, success and failure are the results of prarabdha and not of will-power. A man may be doing only good and noble actions and yet prove a failure. Another may do otherwise and yet be uniformly successful. This does not mean that the will-power is present in the one and not in the other.

So long as one is in contact with it (the body) one must bathe in the waters of the Self.

Devotee:  Is it necessary to take bath if we touch dead bodies?

Ramana Maharishi:  The body is a corpse. So long as one is in contact with it (the body) one must bathe in the waters of the Self.