Devotee: Is the enquiry into the Self the same as the above mentioned faith?
Ramana Maharishi: The enquiry into the Self is inclusive of all, faith, devotion, jnana, yoga and all.
Devotee: A man sometimes finds that the physical body does not permit steady meditation. Should he practise yoga for training the body for the purpose?
Ramana Maharishi: It is according to one’s samskaras (predispositions). One man will practise hatha yoga for curing his bodily ills; another man will trust to God to cure them; a third man will use his will-power for it and a fourth man may be totally indifferent to them. But all of them will persist in meditation. The quest for the Self is the essential factor and all the rest are mere accessories. A man may have mastered the Vedanta philosophy and yet remain unable to control his thoughts. He may have a predisposition (purva samskara) which takes him to practise hatha yoga. He will believe that the mind can be controlled only by yoga and so he will practise it.
Devotee: What is most suitable for gaining facilities for steady dhyana?
Ramana Maharishi: It depends on one’s samskara. One may find hatha yoga suitable and another man nama japa, and so on. The essential point is the atma-vichara - enquiry into the Self.
Ramana Maharishi: The enquiry into the Self is inclusive of all, faith, devotion, jnana, yoga and all.
Devotee: A man sometimes finds that the physical body does not permit steady meditation. Should he practise yoga for training the body for the purpose?
Ramana Maharishi: It is according to one’s samskaras (predispositions). One man will practise hatha yoga for curing his bodily ills; another man will trust to God to cure them; a third man will use his will-power for it and a fourth man may be totally indifferent to them. But all of them will persist in meditation. The quest for the Self is the essential factor and all the rest are mere accessories. A man may have mastered the Vedanta philosophy and yet remain unable to control his thoughts. He may have a predisposition (purva samskara) which takes him to practise hatha yoga. He will believe that the mind can be controlled only by yoga and so he will practise it.
Devotee: What is most suitable for gaining facilities for steady dhyana?
Ramana Maharishi: It depends on one’s samskara. One may find hatha yoga suitable and another man nama japa, and so on. The essential point is the atma-vichara - enquiry into the Self.
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