Sage of Arunachla

Over a period of more than half a century, some of the greatest yogis and sages of India and even a few Shankracharyas had the good fortune to visit the Sage of Arunachala, also known as Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. The list of luminaries who sought Bhagavan’s grace over a period of 53 years would be too long to recite in this short piece.

So here was Sri Ramana, always sitting virtually naked except for a loin cloth. The sage of Arunachala was free of any aspirations for material comfort and led a humble life of poverty in the caves with a few devotees who gathered around him.  His life was one of simplicity and worship, of walking around Arunachala the holy mountain, and explaining the teachings of Self-Inquiry to those who visited him.

Although having nothing, Sri Ramana was serene, content, and care free. The yogis with the psychic and mystical powers and learned men of great knowledge and wisdom bowed before him. They knew they were in the presence of a great and a unique Sage.  A true Self-Realized master was sitting there in pure and perfect stillness before them.

After Sri Ramana arrived in Arunachala in his 17th year, he never felt the desire to go anywhere and give lectures, darshan, satsang and so forth. For 53 years, he stayed near the vicinity of Arunachala as a community gradually gathered around him.

The first few years at Arunachala, Sri Ramana was in perpetual samadhi as if one deeply intoxicated. Gradually his state of consciousness normalized to interact with others. Sri Ramana adapted to the people and the environment around him. He was completely natural in his expressions. Appearing ordinary in all ways, Bhagavan Ramana was full of life, humor, laughter.

Yet a silence that was the epitome of serene beauty was his eternal companion and was felt by the devotees.

One time, someone came to visit Sri Ramana while he was sitting all alone in front of his cave. The person asked Bhagavan “Where is the Swami”?  (Sri Ramana was sometimes referred to as the Swami and other times as Bhagavan. Swami is a common term used to refer to a holy person in India). Sri Ramana said that the Swami had gone out somewhere.

That was Sri Ramana’s way. He did not consider himself any Swami or different than anyone. So the person left and was climbing down the hill to go back to town when he ran into a Ramana devotee. This visitor told the devotee that although he visited Swami’s cave, he could not locate the Swami.

This long time devotee of Bhagavan then took this visitor to Ramana. The devotee pointed to Bhagavan Ramana and said,  “This is the Swami”!

The visitor had his Darshan of Sri Ramana, got his blessings, and then left.

The devotee who had brought the visitor back to Ramana now took Bhagavan to task.  The devotee asked Sri Ramana why he tricks people like that and tells them that the Swami has gone out somewhere when He is the Swami that they have come to see!!

Sri Ramana said, “what am I supposed to do, wear a bell around my neck or have a label posted on my forehead saying here is the Swami”!

Ramana was the most natural Guru. His power and grace to open the Heart and make the devotees realize their own being was literally overwhelming.

Poor illiterate devotees who knew nothing of yoga, meditation, or the fine points of scriptures but were lucky enough to get his instructions on cooking and other minor things have recounted the old days. Many devotees said things like “He used to make us like Himself”.

It means that Sri Ramana would make them see their own Self in an instant, bypassing all spiritual practices! Sri Ramana is known as the Sage of Arunachala and had no equals.

The Heart had manifested in the human form as Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. He was simply present and his presence was the Heart-Presence. It opened the hearts of others.

In a very real way Sri Ramana made the devotees like his own Self, the very Heart of Existence.
~ Luthar
https://luthar.com/2010/04/20/sage-of-arunachala_sri-ramana-maharshi/

भगवद गीता

||    साधनचतुष्टय - सम्पन्न ही ज्ञानयोग के अधिकारी    ||
भगवान गीता [  श्लोक १३ /  २४ ]  में आत्मसाक्षात्कार का वर्णन करते हुए कहते हैं  "  उस परमात्मा को कितने ही मनुष्य तो शुद्ध हुई सूक्ष्म बुद्धि से ध्यान के द्वारा हृदय में देखते हैं ; अन्य कितने ही ज्ञानयोग के द्वारा और दूसरे कितने ही कर्मयोग के द्वारा देखते हैं अर्थात प्राप्त करते हैं |"  यहाँ [  ६ / ११ - १३ श्लोक में बतलाई हुई विधि के अनुसार ]  ध्यानयोग से बुद्धि की शुद्धि करने की बात कही गई है |  उस विशुद्ध सूक्ष्म और तीक्ष्ण बुद्धि से जो हृदय में परब्रह्म परमात्मा का साक्षात्कार किया जाता है , वही ध्यान द्वारा आत्मा से आत्मा में आत्मा को देखना है |  ज्ञानयोग को भगवान ने देहधारियों के लिए कठिन बताया है |  तुलसीदासजी ने कहा है "  कहत कठिन , समझत कठिन , साधन कठिन विवेक "  अर्थात ज्ञानमार्ग अन्य मार्गों से बहुत कठिन है |  इसके द्वारा जो आत्मा और परमात्मा के अभेद का प्रत्यक्ष होकर ब्रह्म का अभिन्नभाव से प्राप्त हो जाना है , वही ज्ञानयोग के द्वारा आत्मा को आत्मा में देखना है | परन्तु ज्ञानयोग का यह साधन साधनचतुष्टय -सम्पन्न अधिकारी के द्वारा ही सुगमता से किया जा सकता है |  इसमें विवेक , वैराग्य ,शटसंपत्ति और मुमुक्षुत्व -  ये चार साधन होते हैं: - [१ ]  विवेक -  विवेक का अर्थ है तत्व का यथार्थ अनुभव करना |  सब अवस्थाओं में और प्रत्येक वस्तु में प्रतिक्षण आत्मा और अनात्मा का विश्लेषण करते - करते यह विवेक - सिद्धि प्राप्त होती है |  ' विवेक '  का यथार्थ उदय हो जाने पर सत और असत एवं नित्य और अनित्य वस्तु का क्षीर - नीर - विवेक की भाँती प्रत्यक्ष अनुभव होने लगता है |
[ २ ]  वैराग्य -  विवेक द्वारा सत - असत और नित्य - अनित्य का प्रिथकीकरण हो जाने पर असत और अनित्य से सहज ही राग हट जाता है , इसी का नाम ' वैराग्य ' है | मनमें भोगों की अभिलाषाएँ बनी हुई हैं और ऊपर से संसार से द्वेष और घृणा कर रहे हैं , इसका नाम ' वैराग्य ' नहीं है |  वैराग्य यथार्थ में आभ्यंतरिक अनासक्ति का नाम है |  जिनको सच्चा वैराग्य प्राप्त होता है , उन पुरुषों के चित्त में ब्रह्मलोक तक के समस्त भोगों में तृष्णा और आसक्ति का अत्यंत अभाव हो जाता है |  जब तक ऐसा वैराग्य न हो , तब तक समझना चाहिए की विवेक में त्रुटि रह गई है |  विवेक की पूर्णता होने पर वैराग्य अवश्यम्भावी है |
[ ३ ]  शट - सम्पत्ति -  इन विवेक और वैराग्य के फलस्वरूप साधक को छ:  विभागोंवाली एक परमसम्पत्ति मिलती है -  [ १ ] शम - मनका पूर्णरूप से निगृहीत , निश्चल और शांत हो जाना ही ' शम '  है |  विवेक और वैराग्य की प्राप्ति होने पर मन स्वाभाविक ही निश्चल और शांत हो जाता है |  [ २ ]  दम -  इन्द्रियों का पूर्णरूप से निगृहीत और विषयों के रसास्वाद से रहित हो जाना ' दम ' है |  [३ ] उपरति -  विषयों से चित्त का उपरत हो जाना ही उपरति है |  जब मन इन्द्रियों को विषयों में रसानुभूति नहीं होगी , तब स्वाभाविक ही साधक की उनसे उपरति हो जायेगी |  यह उपरति भोगमात्र से - केवल बाहर से ही नहीं , भीतर से - होनी चाहिए |  [ ४ ]  तितिक्षा -  द्वन्द्वों को सहन करने का नाम तितिक्षा है | यद्यपि सर्दी - गर्मी , सुख - दू:ख , मान - अपमान आदि का सहन करना भी ' तितिक्षा ' है ; परन्तु विवेक , वैराग्य और शम , दम , उपरति के बाद प्राप्त होने वाली तितिक्षा तो इससे कुछ विलक्षण ही होनी चाहिए |  द्वन्द्व- जगत से ऊपर उठकर , साक्षी होकर द्वन्द्वों को देखना , यही वास्तविक तितिक्षा है |  [ ५ ]  श्रधा -  आत्मसत्ता में प्रत्यक्ष की भांति अखंड विश्वास का नाम ही श्रधा है |  पहले शास्त्र , गुरु और साधन आदि में श्रधा होती है ; उससे आत्मश्रधा बढती है |  परन्तु जब तक आत्मस्वरूप में पूर्णश्रधा नहीं होती , तब तक एकमात्र निष्कल , निरंजन , निराकार , निर्गुण ब्रह्म को लक्ष्य बनाकर उसमें बुद्धि की स्थिति नहीं हो सकती |  [ ६ ]  समाधान - मन और बुद्धि का परमात्मा में पूर्णतया समाहित हो जाना - जैसे अर्जुन को गुरु द्रोण के सामने परीक्षा देते समय वृक्ष पर रखे हुए नकली पक्षी की केवल आँख ही दिखाई पडती थी , वैसे ही मन और बुद्धि को निरंतर एकमात्र लक्ष्यवस्तु ब्रह्म के ही दर्शन होते रहना - यही समाधान है |
[ ४ ]  मुमुक्षुत्व -  उपरोक्त सभी योग्यताएँ प्राप्त होने पर साधक अविद्या के बंधन से सर्वथा मुक्त होना चाहता है और वह सब ओर से चित्त हटाकर , किसी ओर भी न देखकर , एकमात्र परमात्मा की ओर ही दौड़ता है |  उसका यह तीव्र साधन ही , परमात्मा - प्राप्ति की लालसा का परिचय देता है |  यही मुमुक्षुत्व है | 
ज्ञानयोग का वर्णन गीता [  २ / ११ - ३० ]  में विस्तारपूर्वक किया गया है |  उपरोक्त कठिनता को देखते हुए ही भगवान ने देहधारियों के लिए निष्काम - कर्मयोग का सुगम साधन बताया है |  तथा शरणागति [  अनन्यभक्ति ]  को सर्वोत्तम साधन बताया है | 
||            इत्ती       ||

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Spiritual quotes

Spiritual quotes

Nothing

GURU VACHAKA KOVAI

HUMILITY

“In fact you must become nothing…”

496 God humbly and enthusiastically worships all beings at all times as though taking upon himself for all time menial service to them. Is it not because of this that he has become privileged to receive the great and pre-eminent forms of worship performed each day by all the beings of all the worlds?

497 As devotees of God see only their own Self in everything, they behave with humility towards all of them. But since God humbles himself even before his devotees, He has attained, as his nature, that state in which there is nothing inferior to him. Is it not because of the supremacy of this extreme humility that He has attained the state of God?

Muruganar: The implication is that the proper way to attain the state of God is to remain subsided, without the ego.

On many occasions Bhagavan told me [Annamalai Swami]:

'Become envious of anyone lower than you. You must become very small. In fact you must become nothing. Only a person who is nobody can abide in the Self Bhagavan often spoke to us about the necessity of humility. On another occasion he told me, 'No one should be our inferior. One who has learned to be the inferior will become superior to all.’

- Living by the Words of Bhagavan

Truth

"As long as you mistakenly look to the mind for truth, it will continue to haunt you to no end. The best course of action is to look and see for yourself that nothing in the mind is ultimately true, real or existing."

~ Adyashanti

My Secret Is Silence
http://bit.ly/1WArz2a

Divine Love within

HOW TO FIND YOUR PERFECT PARTNER
A step-by-step guide!

There is an unconscious seeking dynamic that lives at the root of all drama, conflict and therefore loneliness in even our most intimate relationships...

We habitually look to 'someone else' for the kind of love and support that they cannot or will not actually provide right now. And we are left feeling disappointed, abandoned, unsafe, unloved and unloveable. And then we blame this 'other' for these seemingly unbearable feelings within us, instead of standing tall in our own experience.

If you're honest with yourself, you'll see that in your suffering you are actually leaving behind a precious part of yourself which is just asking for love. A pain, a fear, a doubt, an anger, has emerged in you not to be 'fixed' or 'healed' or 'taken away' by the other, but loved, embraced, included, sanctified... by you! You are the chosen one!

In other words, you are mistakenly looking to another person to make yourself whole again. Or perhaps you find yourself trying to change or fix them, focussing on their shortcomings, their faults and imperfections, waiting for them to transform, so that THEN they will love you. (Good luck!)

Either way, you have made your happiness dependent upon someone else's happiness and the pace of their evolution. A very disempowering place to be. We call it 'love' but really it is pure addiction. Dependency.

Friend, what you are actually seeking cannot come from without. It lives within. It is there in your very own presence. In your willingness to totally experience what you experience. To hold yourself the way you long to be held. To infuse your pain with empathic attention. To drench your body with kindness. To be the love you know you deserve.

When you break the addiction to 'others' and self-care in this way, you never need to blame anyone for not giving you love again. The sting is removed. The search is undone. There may still be uncomfortable feelings to feel, yes, but there is no violence, for violence only happens when we neglect ourselves and try to manipulate others in our pursuit of peace, love, joy and bliss. We go to war for happiness. We kill for love.

So we can forgive each other now for not being the perfect ones we dreamed of. We can thank our friends and lovers for not saving us, for leaving us unhealed and unfinished. We can bow to each other as we are, honouring our imperfect attempts to love, finding divine unconditional love for our very conditional, perfectly human love.

And each of us can find the perfect partner within. The unconditional Presence that cannot abandon us. Even when we feel abandoned.

How?

Step One: Take no more steps away from yourself.

- Jeff Foster