Quotes 5

I am

Without doing anything you have the knowledge ‘I am’, 
it has come spontaneously and unwillingly on you, 
stay there and put an ax to the ‘I am’.

Sitting quietly, being one with the knowledge ‘I am’, 
you will lose all concern with the world, 
then the ‘I am’ will also go, 
leaving you as the Absolute.

Just sit and know that ‘you are’ the ‘I am’ without words,
nothing else has to be done; 
shortly you will arrive to
your natural Absolute state.

Who has the knowledge ‘I am’? 
Somebody in you knows the knowledge ‘I am’, 
‘you are’. 
Who is it?

You have to understand that the ‘I am’ is even before the
arising of any words, thoughts or feelings.

Meditation means to have an objective or hold onto something. 
You are that something. 
Just being the being ‘I am’.

Sit in meditation by identifying with the ‘I am’, 
dwell only on the ‘I am’- not merely the words ‘I am’.

Do you require any special effort to know that ‘you are’?
The ‘I am’ without words itself is God.

The ‘I am’ is the awareness before thoughts, 
it cannot be put into words; 
you have to ‘just be’.

~ Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Silence and solitude

SILENCE and SOLITUDE **

Devotee : Is a vow of silence useful ?

Sri Bhagavan : The inner silence is self-surrender. And, that is living without the sense of ego
.
D.: Is solitude necessary for a sannyasi ?

Sri Bhagavan : Solitude is in the mind of a man. One might be in the thick of the world and yet maintain perfect serenity of mind ; such a person is always in solitude. Another may stay in the forest, but still be unable to control his mind. He cannot be said to be in solitude. Solitude is an attitude of the mind ; a man attached to the things of life cannot get solitude, wherever he may be. A detached man is always in solitude.

D.: What is mauna (silence) ?

Sri Bhagavan : That state which transcends speech and thought, is mauna (silence), it is meditation without mental activity. Subjugation of the mind is meditation ; deep meditation is eternal speech. Silence is ever-speaking ; it is the perennial flow of 'language'. It is interrupted by speaking ; for words obstruct this mute 'laugage'. Lectures may entertain individuals for hours without improving them. Silence, on the other hand, is permanent and benefits the whole of humanity....By silence, eloquence is meant. Oral lectures are not so eloquent as silence. Silence is unceasing eloquence...It is the best language.

There is a state when words cease and silence prevails.

D.: How then can we communicate our thoughts to one another ?

Sri Bhagavan : That becomes necessary if the sense of duality exists....

D.: Why does not Sri Bhagavan go about and preach the Truth to the people at large ?

Sri Bhagavan : How do you know I am not doing it ? Does preaching consist in mounting a platform and haranguing the people around ? Preaching is simple communication of knowledge ; it can really be done in silence only. What do you think of a man who listens to a sermon for an hour and goes away without having been impressed by it so as to change his life ? Compare him with another who sits in a holy presence and goes away after sometime with his outlook on life totally changed. Which is the better, to preach loudly without effect or to sit silently sending out inner force ?

Again, how does speech arise ? There is abstract knowledge, whence arises the ego, which in turn gives rise to thought, and thought to the spoken word. So, the word is the great-grandson of the original source. If the word can produce effect, judge for yourself, how much more powerful must be the preaching through silence ? But, people do not understand this simple, bare truth, the truth of their everyday, ever-present, eternal experience. This truth is that of the SELF. Is there anyone unaware of the SELF ? But, they do not like even to hear of this truth, whereas they are eager to know what lies beyond, about heaven, hell and reincarnation.

Because they love mystery and not the truth, religions cater to them so as eventually to bring them round to the SELF. Whatever be the means adopted, you must at last return to the SELF ; so, why not abide in the SELF, here and now ? To be a spectator of, or to speculate about the other world, the SELF is necessary; therefore, they are not different from the SELF. Even the ignorant man when he sees the objects, sees only the SELF.

--from " Maharshi's Gospel " , pp. 10--11

Self

CONVERSATIONS WITH ANNAMALAI SWAMI

Q: I am convinced that I am, but I am not convinced of what I am. Intellectually I know I am the Self but I don’t experience this. I have to make a lot of effort.

Annamalai Swami: To experience the Self you have to dive deep into the consciousness ‘I am’.

Q: You mean I should keep the mind there?

Annamalai Swami: Yes. When you see the rope as a rope there is no snake. You also know that there was never a snake. 

When you cease to imagine that you are a mere body and a mind, reality shines of its own accord. If you stabilize in this state you can see that the mind didn’t go anywhere; you understand that it never really existed. ‘Keeping the mind in its source’ is just another way of saying: ‘Understanding that it never existed.’

Q: But how is one to awaken from perpetual body-consciousness? For consciousness to manifest one must have a body.

AS: If there is constant meditation that consciousness is your own reality in which all phenomena are appearing and disappearing, that meditation is the activity of the sattvic mind. It is this activity which erases and dissolves the tamas and rajas which cover the reality.

The human body is the only vehicle in which it is very convenient to realize the unmanifest Self. With the body and the mind we can investigate and discover the Reality that remains unaffected by the body and the mind.
… We should regard the body in the same way we regard a car

Ego

Sri Ramana Maharshi ~~~ Talk 597.

The ego makes you aware of others
and in its absence there are no others to be seen.
The Self is beyond the ego
and is realised after the ego is eliminated.

The elimination of the ego
makes one unaware of others.

**********

Inasmuch as there is no ego in him, 
there are not others for him.

What is the highest benefit that can be conferred on others?
It is happiness. 

Happiness is born of Peace. 
Peace can reign only when there is no disturbance. 
Disturbance is due to thoughts which arise in the mind. 
When the mind itself is absent there will be perfect Peace. 

Unless a person had annihilated his mind
he cannot gain peace and be happy. 
Unless he himself is happy he cannot bestow happiness on others.

When there is no mind he cannot be aware of others. 
So the mere fact of his Self-Realisation 
is itself enough to make all others happy.

Q.: Can samadhi come and go?

M.: What is samadhi? 
Samadhi is one’s essential nature. 
How then can it come or go?

If you do not realise your essential nature, 
your sight remains obstructed. 
What is the obstruction? 
Find it and remove it. 

So one’s efforts are meant only 
for the removal of obstructions which hide the true vision. 
The real nature remains the same. 

When once it is realised it is permanent.

There are no others. ~ramana says

Quotes 4

Quotes 3