Silence

...“WHEN THE OCEAN IS SURGING AND CARRYING AWAY …”

The hall was full of silence, serenity and peace. About twenty people sat on the ground, apparently in deep meditation. When the bell rang for midday meal, the Maharshi invited us all with a nod of his head and we followed him to the dining hall.

Next morning, I sat facing the Maharshi. A government officer accompanied by his retinue entered the hall and at once started telling Bhagavan how corrupt the government servants were, how they abused and misused their positions, how he had been entrusted with the task of cleaning up the government machinery and in his anxiety to make a success of himself, he had lost his peace of mind and had come to Bhagavan to make him calm and contented. It was clear that he thought of himself to be a very important person whose request must be promptly met. After he had finished his long oration, he looked expectantly at Bhagavan as if saying, ‘Now it is your turn to show what you can do.’

Bhagavan did not even look at him. The clock was striking hours, but Bhagavan was completely silent. The officer lost patience, got up and said, “You are silent, Bhagavan. Does it mean that you want me to be silent too?” “Yes, yes”, said Bhagavan, and that was all.

One day, all the delegates to the conference for which I had come to Tiruvannamalai, went in a body to the Ashram. The president of the conference said, “Bhagavan, we are all social workers and disciples of Mahatma Gandhi. We have sworn to devote ourselves to work for the removal of untouchability. Be gracious to tell your view on the subject.”

Again there was no reply. One could not even make out whether he had heard the question. Time was passing. The delegates were getting tired of sitting quietly. When the situation grew embarrassing, Yagnanarayana Iyer, principal of Pachayappa College, Madras, got up and said, “Bhagavan our question concerns worldly life. Perhaps it was improper to put it to you. Kindly forgive us.”

“There is nothing to forgive”, said Bhagavan quite readily and with a bright smile. “When the ocean is surging and carrying away everything before it, who cares what are your views or mine?” The delegates could not find much sense in the answer. Only the great events years later gave meaning to it.

Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi p 381.

Nature of mind

Thoughts manifest themselves within emptiness and are reabsorbed into it like a face appears and disappears in a mirror; the face has never been in the mirror, and when it ceases to be reflected in it, it has not really ceased to exist.
The mirror itself has never changed.

So, before departing on the spiritual path, we remain in the so-called "impure" state of samsara, which is, in appearance, governed by ignorance. When we commit ourselves to that path, we cross a state where ignorance and wisdom are mixed.

At the end, at the moment of Enlightenment, only pure wisdom exists. But all the way along this spiritual journey, although there is an appearance of transformation, the nature of the mind has never changed: it was not corrupted on entry onto the path, and it was not improved at the time of realization.

- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Don't socialize

ANNAMALAI SWAMI - FINAL TALKS

Annamalai Swami: Bhagavan watched me very closely in the years that I served him in the ashram. One time I went to the Mother's temple where many people were talking about worldly matters.

Bhagavan called me back, saying, 'Why should you go to that crowd? Don't go to crowded places. If you move with the crowd, their vasanas will infect you.'

Bhagavan always encouraged me to live a solitary life and not mix with other people. That was the path he picked for me. Other people got different advice that was equally good for them.

But while he actively discouraged me from socializing, he also discouraged me from sitting quietly and meditating during the years that I was working in the ashram. In this period of my life, if Bhagavan saw me sitting with my eyes closed he would call out to me and give me some work to do.

On one of these occasions he told me:
'Don't sit and meditate. It will be enough if you don't forget that you are the Self. Keep this in your mind all the time while you are working. This sadhana will be enough for you.
The real sadhana is not to forget the Self. It is not sitting quietly with one's eyes closed. You are always the Self.
Just don't forget it.'

Bhagavan's way does not create a war between the mind and the body. He does not make people sit down and fight the mind with closed eyes. Usually, when you sit in meditation, you are struggling to achieve something, fighting to gain control over the mind. Bhagavan did not advise us to engage in this kind of fight. He told us that there is no need to engage in a war against the mind, because mind does not have any real, fundamental existence. This mind, he said, is nothing but a shadow. He advised me to be continuously aware of the Self while I did the ordinary things of everyday life, and in my case, this was enough.

p. 67

Meeting bhagwan

MEETING BHAGAVAN in 1903

In 1903, while wandering near the hill for gathering flowers, I saw many people walking towards the Sadguru Swami Cave. A person from the crowd told me, “There is one Brahmana Swami there who sits motionless.”

These words kindled in me a desire to see him. I bought a little sugar candy as a token offering and went to see him.

What a sight he was! For the first time I saw the magnetic Lord who draws towards him the minds of those who see him. Even though he was unwashed and covered with dust, his holy body glowed like gold.

On seeing this ascetic sannyasin with a frame so lean that it exposed his bones, my mind melted and tears welled up within me.

The young Lord than opened his eyes and graciously directed them towards me. I approached, placed the sugar candy near him and prostrated. After Bhagavan had taken a piece and eaten it, a sadhu who was nearby returned some of it to me as prasad.

-Akhilandamma,  The Power of the Presence part 1

Emptiness

Thus samsara is emptiness, nirvana is emptiness
- and so consequently, one is not "bad" nor the other "good."

The person who has realised the nature of mind is freed from the impulsion to reject samsara and obtain nirvana. He is like a young child, who contemplates the world with an innocent simplicity, without concepts of beauty or ugliness, good or evil.

He is no longer the prey of conflicting tendencies, the source of desires or aversions.

- Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Shiva

Shiva was not a person, who lived 5000 years ago. Shiva is an energy.

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Peace

There is no sadhana better than just staying as Peace.
If you must do any practice, then do Vichar.
Joy is also a good sadhana because
it destroys mind, so always be happy.
Always think of It and be happy:
spend the rest of your life knowing
you are Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.

Some practice is better than getting lost in samsara
and is good in that it fatigues the mind,
but typical sadhana is usually important only for the ego.
All sadhana is projected by ego so it is on a sandy foundation.
This ego projection is samsara so search only for the seeker.
"I" is ego so when this meditates there are no good results.

Choice of practice depends on the choice of results.
Brahman has no attributes and is beyond mind
so no practice will take you to that: It is self revealing.
Ramana says "Simply keep Quiet for it is Here and Now."
This is the nearest practice because
Brahman is your nature.

~ Papaji