tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post2105768513393425492..comments2023-10-16T13:06:42.360+01:00Comments on Happiness of Being: The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi: Is ‘guided meditation’ possible in Bhagavan’s path of self-investigation?Michael Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03460943269122289281noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-63455608369749579432017-03-23T13:33:20.567+00:002017-03-23T13:33:20.567+00:00Sanjay Lohia,
you are right, there are scarcely ma...Sanjay Lohia,<br />you are right, there are scarcely major evils than a bloated ego. <br />Therefore we have to exercise vigilance for it. Particularly when we try to instruct somebody about Bhagavan's teachings we should carefully watch the ego's expanding tendencies. atma-sorupamnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-3091056972713832122017-03-22T15:59:25.930+00:002017-03-22T15:59:25.930+00:00Last Sunday after our regular satsang, we (devotee...Last Sunday after our regular <i>satsang</i>, we (devotees present) had quite a lengthy and animated discussion about Bhagavan’s teachings. I was wondering as to how useful are such discussions, either to our own self or to others. Also can we, in certain cases, harm others or even harm ourself, by such discussions? <br /><br />Though it may appear that we are helping others by sharing our understanding of Bhagavan’s teachings with them, this may not be quite the case. If at all we are helping anybody, it is only our own self. How? It is because, according to Bhagavan, only one ego exists, and since we experience ourself as an ego, we must be this one ego. Therefore, if other egos do not even actually exist (although they seem to exist), how can we help them in any way? Thus our discussions with fellow devotees only helps us – this one ego.<br /> <br />However, if suppose we take other egos to be real - as we almost invariably do – in that case we may help others or we may even do them a disservice, depending upon our state of maturity. If we have done sufficient <i>sravana, manana</i> (of Bhagavan's teachings) and <i>nididhyasana</i> we will be in a position to help others, and if others have done sufficient <i>sravana, manana</i> and <i>nididhyasana</i> they will be in a position to help us. However if we lack in our practice, we may do more harm than help them. In other words, only if one is soaked in the core teachings of Bhagavan – as he has conveyed to us through <i>Nan Yar, Ulladu Narpadu</i> and <i>Upadesa Undiyar</i> - will we be in a position to help others, or others will be in a position to help us. <br /><br />Moreover, it is important to convey our ideas to others in a cool and calm way, because we are not trying to ‘convert’ others. We should not convey our ideas in a forceful manner, but convey them in a friendly and soft manner. Bhagavan’s core teachings are very profound, and therefore we should be patient and not expect others to immediately understand them, or to immediately agree with them. <br /><br />Also we should try and keep a part of our attention on ourself, while we engage in such discussions. This will help keep our ego in check. The idea should be to subdue our ego, and not make it bloated. It could become bloated if knowingly or knowingly we assume the role of someone who knows much more than others, thereby implying that we are much more advanced than others. Such an attitude can do us a lot of harm, and thus hamper our spiritual progress. Bhagavan expects us to be humble in all situations. <br /><br />Any comment or addition to my above comment, either by Michael or by others, will be most welcome. <br /><br /> <br />Sanjay Lohiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02384912997886218824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-22774458320554530872017-03-16T06:16:54.416+00:002017-03-16T06:16:54.416+00:00Michael writes: When we try to follow the clues th...Michael writes: When we try to follow the clues that Bhagavan has given us regarding this practice, our only guide is our own self-awareness, ‘I am’, and to follow this guide we must turn our whole attention inwards, leaving aside awareness of anything else. Therefore if anyone were to try to guide us when we are trying to turn inwards, their voice would just be an unwanted distraction.<br /><br />As Michael says, our only guide is our own self-awareness, ‘I am’. Bhagavan also confirmed this. He used to say that our thought called ‘I’ (it’s essential <i>chit</i> aspect) is our only clue, and therefore if we follow this ‘I’ to its source, it will infallibly lead us to our pure ‘I’, our pure-consciousness. He used to say it is like a dog finding his master by following the trail of its master’s smell. <br />Sanjay Lohiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02384912997886218824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-87877752434215913912017-03-16T05:59:17.278+00:002017-03-16T05:59:17.278+00:00gold-digger, thank you for pointing out my typo. gold-digger, thank you for pointing out my typo. Sanjay Lohiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02384912997886218824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-67400033531777001962017-03-15T23:41:43.325+00:002017-03-15T23:41:43.325+00:00Sanjay Lohia,
in your first comment you surely wan...Sanjay Lohia,<br />in your first comment you surely wanted to write "deepen our understanding of his teachings" instead of "understating".gold-diggernoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-75230468000181026112017-03-15T16:52:52.832+00:002017-03-15T16:52:52.832+00:00Michael has uploaded his new video in his Youtube ...Michael has uploaded his new video in his <i>Youtube</i> channel. The video is titled: <i>2017-03-11 Ramana Maharshi Foundation UK: discussion with Michael James on life as a dream</i>. The following is an extract from this video: <br /><br />Michael James: Once, some were saying, ‘Bhagavan is <i>Shiva</i>’, others were saying, ‘he is <i>Subramanya</i>’, and so on. When Bhagavan was asked in a verse: ‘who are you?’ he replied:<br /><br /><i>Arunachala Ramana</i> is the <i>paramatman</i>, the real self, which is blissfully existing or enjoying itself as pure-awareness in the hearts of all living beings from <i>Vishnu</i> downwards.<br /><br />That means from God down to the ant, what is existing in each one as awareness is <i>Arunachala Ramana</i>. That is what Bhagavan really is. So the form which we take to be Bhagavan is not the real Bhagavan. Bhagavan is beyond all forms. Because we are looking outwards, he appeared as a human form in order to tell us: if you want to know what is God; what the real form of <i>guru</i> is; what you are – that is, if you want to know anything worth knowing, see yourself, look within, because <i>you are that</i>. <br />Sanjay Lohiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02384912997886218824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-31756963936253427372017-03-15T12:02:21.721+00:002017-03-15T12:02:21.721+00:00Michael writes in this article:
Since being self-...Michael writes in this article:<br /><br />Since being self-attentive is something that we must necessarily do on our own, ‘guided meditation’ or ‘group meditation’ cannot help us in this practice. The only thing that can help us is careful and repeated <i>sravana</i> and deep and prolonged <i>manana</i>. Therefore it is only in these two elements of the spiritual path that we can be helped directly by others, and whatever help we derive from fellow devotees and aspirants in this respect will indirectly help us in our practice of <i>ātma-vicāra</i>.<br /><br />Generally we do everything else in our <i>satsangs</i>, but fail to study and discuss Bhagavan’s teachings. As least we do not discuss it in depth, even if study a bit of it. We do <i>pujas</i> to him, do group <i>parayana</i> of his works, give lectures, celebrate <i>jayanthis, aradhanas, deepams</i> and so on, but fail to deepen our understating of his teachings by discussing it in detail. <br /><br />At one time I also felt that I should be ‘guided’ in my meditations, but after reading what Michael has written, it is clear that such sessions are not necessary. In fact they can be counterproductive to both: to the one who guides, and to the one who is guided. The guide’s ego is likely to become inflated, if he or she assumes that they are in a position to guide others. And the guided will necessary have to keep his attention focused on the sound of the 'guiding' words, and thus will not be able to sink deep within. Thus, such sessions are detrimental to both, the ‘teacher’ and the ‘taught’, and thus should be avoided.<br /><br />Someone once asked Bhagavan: should I practise meditation in a group, or practise it alone. Bhagavan replied: for the beginners it is better to practise it alone, or in solitariness. Thus, he was clearly implying that we do not need an outside guide to guide our meditations. <br /> <br /> <br /><br />Sanjay Lohiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02384912997886218824noreply@blogger.com