The individuals may move but not the Self.

Ramana Maharishi:  You do not go anywhere away from the Presence as you imagine. The Presence is everywhere. The body moves from place to place; yet it does not leave the one Presence. So no one can be out of sight of the Supreme Presence. Since you identify one body with Sri Bhagavan and another body with yourself, you find two separate entities and speak of going away from here. Wherever you may be, you cannot leave ME. To illustrate it: The pictures move on the screen in a cinema show; but does the screen itself move? No. The Presence is the screen: you, I, and others are the pictures. The individuals may move but not the Self.

Why Brahman is said to be sacchidananda, but not God?

Devotee:  Why Brahman is said to be sacchidananda, but not God?

Ramana Maharishi:  Sat denotes being beyond sat and asat; Chit beyond chit and achit; Ananda beyond bliss and non-bliss. What is it then? Even if not sat nor asat, It must be admitted to be
sat only. Compare the term jnana. It is the state beyond knowledge and ignorance. Yet jnana is not ignorance but knowledge. So also with Sat-chit-ananda.

Take off the upadhi (limiting adjunct); the ‘I’ (Aham) is pure and single.

Devotee:  Aham ‘I’ applies to the individual and also to Brahman. It is rather unfortunate.

Ramana M.: It is upadhi bheda (owing to different limiting adjuncts). The bodily limitations pertain to the aham (‘I’) of the jiva, whereas the universal limitations pertain to the aham (‘I’) of Brahman. Take off the upadhi (limiting adjunct); the ‘I’ (Aham) is pure and single.

This consciousness is pure Knowledge in which both knowledge and ignorance shine.

Ramana Maharishi:  The sun, the moon, etc., shine forth. How? Do they come and tell you that they shine forth or does another apart from them say that they shine forth?

Devotee:  Of course I say that they shine forth.

Ramana Maharishi:  Therefore they shine on account of you. Again consciousness is necessary to know that they(sun, moon etc.,)  shine forth. That consciousness is your Self or you. So then you or your consciousness is the same as He and His Light by which all else shine forth.

Devotee:   Is that Light like sunlight?

Ramana Maharishi:  No. The sunlight is jada (insentient). You are aware of it. It makes objects perceptible and chases away darkness, whereas consciousness is that Light which makes not only light but also darkness perceptible. Darkness cannot exist before sunlight, but it can remain in the Light of Consciousness. Similarly, this consciousness is pure Knowledge in which both knowledge and ignorance shine.

How does it (object) affect the subject whether the objects are seen or not?

Ramana Maharishi:  The object is seen or the light is recognised because there is the subject to do so. How does it affect the subject whether the objects are seen or not? If the light, i.e., the cogniser or the consciousness is seen, there will be no object to be seen. Pure light, i.e., Consciousness, will alone remain over.

I do not want intellectual answers. I want them to be practical.

Devotee:  I do not want intellectual answers. I want them to be practical.

Ramana Maharishi:  Yes. Direct knowledge does not require intellectual discourses. Since the Self is directly experienced by everyone, they are not at all necessary. Everyone says “I am”. Is there anything more to realise?

Devotee:   It is not clear to me.

Ramana Maharishi:  You exist. You say ‘I am’. That means existence.

Shall I meditate on “I am Brahman” (Aham Brahmasmi)?

Devotee:  Shall I meditate on “I am Brahman” (Aham Brahmasmi)?

Ramana Maharishi:  The text is not meant for thinking “I am Brahman”. Aham (‘I’) is known to everyone. Brahman abides as Aham in everyone. Find out the ‘I’. The ‘I’ is already Brahman. You need not think so. Simply find out the ‘I’.

After finding the source of that ‘I’, merge your individuality in that Oneness - which is Self-existent and devoid of all duality.

The all-pervading nature of the Name can only be understood when one recognises his own ‘I’. When one’s own name is not recognised, it is impossible to get all-pervading Name. When one knows oneself then one finds the Name everywhere. To see the Name as different from the Named creates illusion.  None can realise the Name by the practice of knowledge, meditation or austerity. Surrender yourself at first at the feet of the Guru and learn to know who the ‘I’ in you is. After finding the source of that ‘I’, merge your individuality in that Oneness - which is Self-existent and devoid of all duality. It is that Name that permeates the three worlds. The Name is Paramatman Itself where there is no action arising out of dvaita (duality).

Sleep implies forgetfulness of all differences

Ramana Maharishi:  Deep sleep is only the state of non-duality. Can the difference between the individual and Universal souls persist there? Sleep implies forgetfulness of all differences: This alone constitutes happiness. See how carefully people prepare their beds to gain that happiness. Soft cushions, pillows and all the rest are meant to induce sound sleep, that is to say to end wakefulness. And yet the soft bed, etc., are of no use in the state of deep sleep itself. The implication is that all efforts are meant only to end ignorance. They have no use after realisation.

Find that on which all the rest are superimposed and you then remain as the pure Self.

Devotee:  Which is the best of the different yogas, Karma, Jnana, Bhakti or Hatha?

Ramana Maharishi:  See stanza 10 of “Upadesa Sara”. To remain in the Self amounts to all these in their highest sense.  In dreamless sleep there is no world, no ego and no unhappiness. But the Self remains. In the waking state there are all these; yet there is the Self. One has only to remove the transitory happenings in order to realise the ever-present beatitude of the Self. Your nature is Bliss. Find that on which all the rest are superimposed and you then remain as the pure Self.

Devotee:  Yes. It amounts to the removal of alien limitations for discovering the ever-present Self. That is what Sankara says. There is no attainment or loss.

Ramana Maharishi:   Quite so. 

Everything is within one’s Self

Devotee:  Does Bhagavan believe that the Hill is hollow, etc.?

Ramana Maharishi:  Everything depends on the viewpoint of the individual. You yourself have seen hermitages, etc., on this Hill in a vision. You have described such in your book.

Devotee:  Yes. It was on the surface of the Hill. The vision was within me.

Ramana Maharishi: That is exactly so. Everything is within one’s Self. To see the world, there must be a spectator. There could be no world without the Self. The Self is all-comprising. In fact Self is all. There is nothing besides the Self.

Devotee:   What is the mystery of this Hill?

Ramana Maharishi: Just as you have said in Secret Egypt, “The mystery of the pyramid is the mystery of the Self,” so also the mystery of this Hill is the mystery of the Self

Take care to see that mind (who prays to Master to pardon his sins) did not trouble him

A man  prayed to the Master to pardon his sins.

(Ramana Maharishi):  He was told that it would be enough if he took care to see that his mind did not trouble him.

Though the ‘I’ is always experienced, yet one’s attention has to be drawn to it. Only then does knowledge dawn.

Ramana Maharishi:  Unbroken ‘I-I’ is the ocean infinite, the ego, ‘I’ thought, remains only a bubble on it and is called jiva, i.e., individual soul. The bubble too is water; when it bursts it only mixes in the ocean. When it remains a bubble it is still a part of the ocean. Ignorant of this simple truth, innumerable methods under different denominations, such as yoga, bhakti, karma....... each again with many modifications, are being taught with great skill and in intricate detail only to entice the seekers and confuse their minds. So also are the religions and sects and dogmas. What are they all for? Only for knowing the Self. They are aids and practices required for knowing the Self. Objects perceived by the senses are spoken of as immediate knowledge (pratyaksha). Can anything be as direct as the Self - always experienced without the aid of the senses? Sense-perceptions can only be indirect knowledge, and not direct knowledge. Only one’s own awareness is direct knowledge, as is the common experience of one and all. No aids are needed to know one’s own Self, i.e., to be aware. The one Infinite Unbroken Whole (plenum) becomes aware of itself as ‘I’. This is its original name. All other names, e.g., OM, are later growths. Liberation is only to remain aware of the Self. The mahavakya “I am Brahman” is its authority. Though the ‘I’ is always experienced, yet one’s attention has to be drawn to it. Only then does knowledge dawn. Thus the need for the instruction of the Upanishads and of wise sages.

How to get rid of the mind?

Ramana Maharishi:   It is the mind that stands between and veils our happiness. How do we know that we exist? If you say because of the world around us, then how do you know that you existed in deep sleep?

Devotee:  How to get rid of the mind?

Ramana Maharishi:  Is it the mind that wants to kill itself? The mind cannot kill itself. So your business is to find the real nature of the mind. Then you will know that there is no mind. When the Self is sought, the mind is nowhere. Abiding in the Self, one need not worry about the mind.

Find wherefrom 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.

Ramana Maharishi:  “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 wherefrom 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.”

The present difficulty is that the man thinks that he is the doer. But it is a mistake.

Ramana Maharishi:  The present difficulty is that the man thinks that he is the doer. But it is a mistake. It is the Higher Power which does everything and the man is only a tool. If he accepts that position he is free from troubles; otherwise he courts them. Take for instance, the figure in a gopuram (temple tower), where it is made to appear to bear the burden of the tower on its shoulders. Its posture and look are a picture of great strain while bearing the very heavy burden of the tower. But think. The tower is built on the earth and it rests on its foundations. The figure (like Atlas bearing the earth) is a part of the tower, but is made to look as if it bore the tower. Is it not funny? So is the man who takes on himself the sense of doing.

If actions were to take place without attachment there would be no expectation of fruit.

Devotee:  All actions take place owing to Sakti. How far does Sakti go? Can she effect anything without one’s own effort?

Ramana Maharishi:  The answer to the question depends on what the Purusha is understood to be. Is he the ego or the Self?

Devotee:  Purusha is svarupa.

Ramana Maharishi:  But he cannot make any prayatna (effort).

Devotee:  Jiva is the one who makes the prayatna.

Ramana Maharishi:  So long as egoity lasts prayatna is necessary. When egoity ceases to be, actions become spontaneous. The ego acts in the presence of the Self. He cannot exist without the Self. The Self makes the universe what it is by His Sakti, and yet He does not Himself act. Sri Krishna says in the Bhagavad Gita, “I am not the doer and yet actions go on”. It is clear from the Mahabharata that very wonderful actions were effected by Him. Yet He says that He is not the doer. It is like the sun and the world actions.

Devotee:  He is without abhimana (attachment) whereas the jiva is with abhimana.

Ramana Maharishi:  Yes. Being attached, he acts and also reaps the fruits. If the fruits are according to his desire he is happy; otherwise he is miserable. Happiness and misery are due to his attachment. If actions were to take place without attachment there would be no expectation of fruit.

Devotee:  Can actions take place spontaneously without individual effort? Should we not cook our food in order to eat it later?

Ramana Maharishi:  Atman acts through the ego. All actions are due to efforts only. A sleeping child is fed by its mother. The child eats food without being wide awake and then denies having taken food in sleep. However the mother knows what happened. Similarly the Jnani acts unawares. Others see him act, but he does not know it himself. Owing to fear of Him wind blows, etc. That is the order of things. He ordains everything and the universe acts accordingly, yet He does not know. Therefore He is called the great Doer. Every embodied being (ahankari) is bound by niyama. Even Brahma cannot transgress it.

Is work an obstruction to Self-realisation?

Devotee:  Is work an obstruction to Self-realisation?

Ramana Maharishi:  No. For a realised being the Self alone is the Reality, and actions are only phenomenal, not affecting the Self. Even when he acts he has no sense of being an agent. His actions are only involuntary and he remains a witness to them without any attachment. There is no aim for this action. Even one who is still practising the path of Wisdom (jnana) can practise while engaged in work. It may be difficult in the earlier stages for a beginner, but after some practice it will soon be effective and the work will not be found a hindrance to meditation.

The discrimination between right and wrong is the origin of the sin

Sri Bhagavan then pointed out that to see wrong in another is one’s own wrong. The discrimination between right and wrong is the origin of the sin. One’s own sin is reflected outside and the individual in ignorance superimposes it on another. The best course for one is to reach the state in which such discrimination does not arise. Do you see wrong or right in your sleep? Did you not exist in sleep? Be asleep even in the wakeful state. Abide as the Self and remain uncontaminated by what goes on around. Moreover, however much you might advise them, your hearers may not rectify themselves. Be in the right yourself and remain silent.

Your silence will have more effect than your words or deeds. That is the development of will-power. Then the world becomes the Kingdom of Heaven, which is within you.

Creation is thus found to be only your thoughts.

Ramana Maharishi:  If you cease to identify yourself with the body no questions regarding creation, birth, death, etc., will arise. They did not arise in your sleep. Similarly they will not arise in the true state of the Self. The object of creation is thus clear, that you should proceed from where you find yourself and realise your true Being You could not raise the question in your sleep because there is no creation there. You raise the question now because your thoughts appear and there is creation. Creation is thus found to be only your thoughts.

Is there no way of escape from the miseries of the world?

Devotee:  Is there no way of escape from the miseries of the world?

Ramana Maharishi:  There is only one way and that consists in not losing sight of one’s Self under any circumstances. To enquire “Who am I?” is the only remedy for all the ills of the world. It is also perfect bliss.

It (World) is unreal if viewed as apart from the Self and real if viewed as the Self.

A question arose if the world is real or unreal, since it is claimed to be both by the advaitins themselves.

Sri Bhagavan said that it is unreal if viewed as apart from the Self and real if viewed as the Self.

If the world is only a dream, how should it be harmonised with the Eternal Reality?

Devotee:  If the world is only a dream, how should it be harmonised with the Eternal Reality?

Ramana Maharishi:  The harmony consists in the realisation of its inseparateness from the Self.

…..

Devotee:  The spirit remains unaffected by the passing phenomena and by the successive bodies of repeated births. How does each body get the life to set it acting?

Ramana Maharishi:  The spirit is differentiated from matter and is full of life. The body is animated by it.

Devotee:  The realised being is then the spirit and unaware of the world.

Ramana Maharishi:  He sees the world but not as separate from the Self.

Devotee:  If the world is full of pain why should he continue the world-idea?

Ramana Maharishi:  Does the realised being tell you that the world is full of pain? It is the other one who feels the pain and seeks the help of the wise saying that the world is painful. Then the wise one explains from his experience that if one withdraws within the Self there is an end of pain. The pain is felt so long as the object is different from oneself. But when the Self is found to be an undivided whole who and what is there to feel? The realised mind is the Holy Spirit and the other mind is the home of the devil. For the realised being this is the Kingdom of Heaven. “The Kingdom of Heaven is within you.” That Kingdom is here and now.

There is no period of time when realisation is not.

Ramana Maharishi:   What is maya? The knowledge that the mind is divorced from the Reality is maya. The mind is in Reality only and not apart. This knowledge is the elimination of maya.
…

Devotee:  The understanding is intellectual.

Ramana Maharishi:   Intellect. Whose intellect? The problem revolves round that  question.  You admit that you exist even in the absence of intellect - say, in sleep. How do you know that you exist if you have not realised your existence? Your very existence is realisation. You cannot imagine a point of time when you do not exist. So there is no period of time when  realisation is not.

If one is to withdraw oneself, why is there the world?

Devotee:  If one is to withdraw oneself, why is there the world?

Ramana Maharishi:  Where is the world and where does one go withdrawing oneself? Does one fly in an aeroplane beyond space? Is it withdrawal? The fact is this: the world is only an idea. What do you say: Are you within the world or is the world within you?

Devotee:  I am in the world. I am part of it.

Ramana Maharishi:  That is the mistake. If the world were to exist apart from you, does it come and tell you that it exists? No, you see it exists. You see it when you are awake and not when asleep. If it exists apart from you, it must tell you so and you must be aware of it even in your sleep.

Devotee:  I became aware of it in my jagrat.

Ramana Maharishi:  Do you become aware of yourself and then of the world? Or do you become aware of the world and then of yourself? Or do you become aware of both simultaneously?

Devotee:  I must say simultaneously.

Ramana Maharishi:  Were you or were you not, before becoming aware of yourself? Do you admit your continued existence before and when you become aware of the world?

Devotee:  Yes.

Ramana Maharishi:  If always existing yourself, why are you not aware of the world in sleep if it exists apart from the Self?

Devotee:  I become aware of myself and of the world also.

Ramana Maharishi:  So you become aware of yourself. Who becomes aware of whom? Are there two selves?

Devotee:  No.

Ramana Maharishi:  So you see that it is wrong to suppose that awareness has passing phases. The Self is always aware. When the Self identifies itself as the seer it sees objects. The creation of the subject and the object is the creation of the world. Subjects and objects are creations in Pure Consciousness. You see pictures moving on the screen in a cinema show. When you are intent on the pictures you are not aware of the screen. But the pictures cannot be seen without the screen behind. The world stands for the pictures and Consciousness stands for the screen. The Consciousness is pure. It is the same as the Self which is eternal and unchanging. Get rid of the subject and object

and Pure Consciousness will alone remain.

Devotee:  But why did Pure Brahman become Isvara and manifest the universe if He did not mean it?

Ramana Maharishi:  Did Brahman or Isvara tell you so? You say that Brahman became Isvara, and so on. This too you did not say in your sleep. Only in your jagrat state you speak of Brahman, Isvara and universe. The jagrat state is a duality of subject and object - owing to the rise of thoughts. So they are your thought creations.

Devotee:  But the world exists in my sleep even though I am not aware.

Ramana Maharishi:  What is the proof of its existence?

Devotee:  Others are aware of it.

Ramana Maharishi:  Do they say so to you when you are in sleep or do you become aware of others who see the world in your sleep?

Devotee:  No, but God is always aware.

Ramana Maharishi:  Leave God alone. Speak for yourself. You do not know God. He is only what you think of Him. Is he apart from you? He is that Pure Consciousness in which all ideas are formed. You are that Consciousness.

What is the best way to work for world peace?

Devotee:  What is the best way to work for world peace?

Ramana Maharishi.:  What is world? What is peace, and who is the worker? The world is not in your sleep and forms a projection of your mind in your jagrat. It is therefore an idea and nothing else. Peace is absence of disturbance. The disturbance is due to the arising of thoughts in the individual, who is only the ego rising up from Pure Consciousness.  To bring about peace means to be free from thoughts and to abide as Pure Consciousness. If one remains at peace oneself, there is only peace all about.

How shall we able to get over these differences and comprehend the One Essence of all things?

Devotee:  How shall we able to get over these differences and comprehend the One Essence of all things?

Ramana Maharishi:  The differences are the result of the sense of doership (kartritva). The fruits will be destroyed if the root is destroyed. So relinquish the sense of doership; the differences will vanish and the essential reality will reveal itself. In order to give up the sense of doership one must seek to find out who the doer is. Enquire within; the sense of doership will vanish. Vichara (enquiry) is the method.

The mind has its substratum in the Self which is self-evident, i.e. its existence and self-luminosity are obvious.

Ramana Maharishi:  There is the world perceived, the perception is only apparent; it requires location for existence and light. Such existence and light are simultaneous with the rise of mind. So the physical existence and illumination are part of mental existence and illumination. The latter is not absolute, for the mind rises and sinks. The mind has its substratum in the Self which is self-evident, i.e. its existence and self-luminosity are obvious. That is absolute being, continuous in sleep, waking and dream states also.  The world consists of variety, which is the function of the mind. The mind shines by reflected light - i.e. light reflected from the self. Just as the pictures in a cinema show are seen only in diffused, i.e. artificial light, but not in a strong glare or in thick darkness, so also the world pictures are perceptible only in diffused, i.e. reflected light of the Self through the darkness of avidya (ignorance). The world cannot be seen either in pure ignorance as in sleep, or in pure light as in Self-Realisation. Avidya is the Cause of variety.