Passion lust

D.: How to control lust, anger, etc.?

M.: Whose are these passions? Find out. If you remain as the Self, there will be found to be nothing apart from the Self. Then there will be no need to control, etc.

(From 'Talks with Sri Ramana Maharishi': 252)

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D.: So we must rid ourselves of lust (kama), anger, (krodha), etc.

M.: Give up thoughts. You need not give up anything else. You must be there to see anything. It is the Self. Self is ever-conscious.

(From 'Talks with Sri Ramana Maharishi': 41)

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Another of the group asked: How are lust, anger, acquisitiveness, confusion, pride and jealousy overcome?

M.: By dhyana.

D.: What is dhyana?

M.: Dhyana is holding on to a single thought and putting off all other thoughts.

(From 'Talks with Sri Ramana Maharishi': 371)

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D.: How to conquer desire, anger, etc.?

M.: Desire or lust, anger, etc., give you pain. Why? Because of the ‘I’- conceit; this ‘I’-conceit is from ignorance; ignorance from differentiation; differentiation from the notion of the reality of the world and this again from ‘I-am-the-body’ idea. The last can be only after the rise of the ego. The ego not arising, the whole chain of mishaps disappears. Therefore prevent the rise of the ego. This can be done by remaining in your own real nature; then lust, anger, etc., are conquered.

(From 'Talks with Sri Ramana Maharishi': 575)
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A Pilgrims’ special train brought several visitors from Bengal. One of them said that he had read Mr. Paul Brunton’s book and since then he was anxious to see Sri Bhagavan. He also asked: How shall I overcome my passions?

M.: 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.

('Talks with Sri Ramana Maharishi': 523)

THAT WHICH IS

THAT WHICH IS

Q: There is the witnessed consciousness and there is the witnessing consciousness. Is the second the supreme?

M: There are the two -- the person and the witness, the observer. When you see them as one, and go beyond, you are in the supreme state. It is not perceivable, because it is what makes perception possible. It is beyond being and not being. It is neither the mirror nor the image in the mirror. It is what is -- the timeless reality, unbelievably hard and solid.

Q: The jnani -- is he the witness or the Supreme?

M: He is the Supreme, of course, but he can also be viewed as the universal witness.

Q: But he remains a person?
M: When you believe yourself to be a person, you see persons everywhere. In reality there are no persons, only threads of memories and habits. At the moment of realisation the person ceases.

Identity remains, but identity is not a person, it is inherent in the Reality itself. The person has no being in itself; it is a reflection in the mind of the witness, the 'I am', which again is a mode of being.

- Nisargadatta, I AM THAT ch 13

Conscious Immortality

CONSCIOUS IMMORTALITY

Q: What about P.B.'s idea of inspired action?

M: Let activities go on. They do not affect the pure Self.
The difficulty is that people think they are the doer.

This is a mistake. It is the Higher Power which does everything and people are only tools. If they accept that position they will be free from troubles, otherwise they court them.

The sculptured figure on the temple tower shows great strain, but really, the tower rests on the ground, and that supports the figure. The figure is a part of the tower, but is made to look as if it is bearing the weight of the tower. Is it not funny?

It is the same with the person who takes on himself the sense of doing.

P. 13

Supreme state

If the supreme state is that in which neither the senses nor the mind exist and not the state in which they exist, how can it be the perfect state (paripurnam)? As karma alone is responsible for the activity or inactivity of the sages, great souls have declared the state of sahaja nirvikalpa (the natural state without concepts) alone to be the ultimate state.

(From 'Spiritual Instruction': IV.6)

Turiya

Turiya means that which is the fourth. The experiencers (jivas) of the three states of waking, dreaming and deep sleep, known as 'visva', 'taijasa' and 'prajna', who wander successively in these three states, are not the Self. It is with the object of making this clear, namely that the Self is that which is different from them and which is the witness of these states, that it is called the fourth (turiya). When this is known, the three experiencers disappear and the idea that the Self is a witness, that it is the fourth, also disappears. That is why the Self is described as beyond the fourth (turiyatita).

(From 'Spiritual Instruction': IV.8)

Spiritual friends

“Spending your time with true spiritual friends will fill you with love for all beings and help you to see how negative attachment and hatred are. Being with such friends, and following their example, will naturally imbue you with their good qualities, just as all the birds flying around a golden mountain are bathed in its golden radiance.”

~ H.H. Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Freedom

In the hall where Bhagavan used to give darshan there was a chimney. The chimney was closed on all sides with steel mesh, except at the bottom. One day, a beautiful small bird somehow entered it and became trapped inside this chimney. The bird found itself trapped in conditions diametrically opposed to its natural environment: the vast space where it could fly freely. From the moment it entered the chimney, it was frantically struggling to escape, but all its efforts proved futile. Why? Because, forgetting the way it came, it was repeatedly trying to escape through all the closed routes. Sri Bhagavan took this opportunity to reveal a great truth:

'This bird has given up the all-pervasive space, its natural place of residence. It has been caught in this limited space, which is opposed to its nature. Not knowing how to escape from this prison, it is agitated and afraid. Like this bird, jivas have also given up their natural place of residence, the vast space of consciousness. Through the delusion of ignorance they have become trapped in the prison of the body. Without knowing how to escape, they are tormented by various afflictions. The ceaseless efforts of this bird to reach its natural place of residence are unsuccessful because they are directed upwards, the way of bondage, instead of downwards, the way it came. Similarly, the reason why the jiva’s ceaseless effort to attain freedom are unsuccessful is because they too are directed outwards, the way of bondage, instead inwards, the way they came. The natural tendency of the bird to go upwards asserts itself even in its attempt for freedom. Likewise, the natural tendency of jivas to roam outwards asserts itself even in their attempts at liberation. This is the jiva’s natural tendency. If, through true discrimination and awareness, the jiva is made to turn back from outward-directed sight to inward sight, and if it remains fixed there, it is certain that it would attain liberation in an instant.'

(. Sri Ramana Darsanam, pp. 49-50.]