tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post8703727795393846298..comments2023-10-16T13:06:42.360+01:00Comments on Happiness of Being: The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi: As we actually are, we do nothing and are aware of nothing other than ourselfMichael Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03460943269122289281noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-26609809343089970472016-11-22T20:51:37.258+00:002016-11-22T20:51:37.258+00:00Michael,
may I describe a quite technical problem ...Michael,<br />may I describe a quite technical problem at commenting in the box "Leave your comment" which happens to me since a few days very often:<br />After choosing an identity and marking with a cross the square box in front of "I'm not a robot" if clicking on the button "Preview" always I am confronted with the answer "Bad Request Error 400".<br />Could you please inquire at blogger how to end that problem with the "Preview" box ?commentatornoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-70528931327544586342016-11-22T20:20:03.283+00:002016-11-22T20:20:03.283+00:00Ken,
thank you. I will do my best in trying to be ...Ken,<br />thank you. I will do my best in trying to be vigilantly self-attentive, that is just being.ahankaranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-21445143697586966152016-11-22T17:32:57.792+00:002016-11-22T17:32:57.792+00:00Ahankara -
I have never tried the "between ...Ahankara - <br /><br />I have never tried the "between two states" method.<br /><br />In the "between two thoughts" method, the practice is not doing anything, but rather just "being" and merely paying attention.<br /><br />In between two thoughts, there only remains that which is always present.<br /><br />If we reflect on the only thing which is always present throughout our life, and is still there between two thoughts, then just "be" that.Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08444422146838072196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-82169762662625171732016-11-22T12:07:59.110+00:002016-11-22T12:07:59.110+00:00Ken,
what Sri Ramana said is surely correct. Regre...Ken,<br />what Sri Ramana said is surely correct. Regrettably till now I (this ego-mind) did not develop the required keen vigilance to experience with sufficiently clear consciousness the underlying stream of pure awareness in the short intervals between two successive states of consciousness let alone between two successive thoughts. Therefore the mentioned many chances per day are opportunities given only theoretically - at least for me.ahankaranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-13814425213454555302016-11-22T03:07:26.390+00:002016-11-22T03:07:26.390+00:00Ramana Maharshi once stated:
"The ego in its...Ramana Maharshi once stated:<br /><br />"The ego in its purity is experienced in the intervals between two states <b>or between two thoughts.</b>"<br /><br />So, one has far more than one chance per day.Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08444422146838072196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-34664821221082692072016-11-21T23:29:17.251+00:002016-11-21T23:29:17.251+00:00Today morning again I could not prevent my form-pr...Today morning again I could not prevent my form-projecting ego from rising.<br />I cannot confidently hope that tomorrow morning this ego will not arise and grasp this gross body again. Even when this gross body would die in this night this ego would grasp a more subtle one (suksma sarira) - if I am not in error. Therefore during the lifetime of this gross body I will hardly experience ceasing to rise as this finite form-grasping ego.ahankaranoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-65070455033688815402016-11-10T23:26:00.847+00:002016-11-10T23:26:00.847+00:00Michael,
section 18.
last paragraph:
'What act...Michael,<br />section 18.<br />last paragraph:<br />'What actually exists is only atma-svarupa[our own real self]'.<br />'...we are the one beginningless, endless and undivided sat-chit-ananda.'<br />We are just what is (ulladu), and what is always<br />is just as it is."<br />So after reading of all this teaching I do still not know who I am.<br />Is there any hope ?paramarthanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-30491940075083234062016-11-10T22:15:25.829+00:002016-11-10T22:15:25.829+00:00Michael,
section 16. Our actual self does not look...Michael,<br />section 16. Our actual self does not look at or see anything other than itself<br />What you say"...but what is looking through our eyes ...is only our ego and not our actual self." is hardly to believe when we receive or imagine the gloriously bright look of the radiant eyes of Bhagavan Sri Ramana' big photography which is seen on the horthern wall in the new large dining hall at Sri Ramanasramam.unmai unarccinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-75790361598689218392016-11-10T21:44:17.880+00:002016-11-10T21:44:17.880+00:00Michael,
section 14. Grace is our infinite love fo...Michael,<br />section 14. Grace is our infinite love for ourself...<br />What you write here is only grace, 'doing without doing'. Thanks.unmai unarccinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-20254050687026703782016-11-10T09:39:13.637+00:002016-11-10T09:39:13.637+00:00Michael,
section 10.
"In fact it never decide...Michael,<br />section 10.<br />"In fact it never decides or does anything, because it is just pure self-awareness, which is intransitive, so it is aware of nothing other than itself. Only as the separate entity that he seems to be in the view of our outward-turned mind does God know anything, do anything or decide anything."<br />It sounds fascinatingly that we in our outward-turned mind would have a source from which we can assume or rather know, that "God in fact never decides or does anything, because it is just pure self-awareness, which is intransitive, so it is aware of nothing other than itself."<br />Such a source must be God itself.adharanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-1743458318495794572016-11-10T00:24:00.113+00:002016-11-10T00:24:00.113+00:00Michael,
section 12.
Being always just as we reall...Michael,<br />section 12.<br />Being always just as we really are and aware of nothing other than ourself - what a luxury ! It seems to be sheer extravagance. If I could at least get a taste of that flower of the divine nectar of immortality.adharanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-52306763051375188032016-11-09T23:50:57.798+00:002016-11-09T23:50:57.798+00:00Ken,
as you seem to suggest all "why"-qu...Ken,<br />as you seem to suggest all "why"-questions should be dissolved in the source of the mind and of all.adharanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-17139983664605985982016-11-09T23:10:16.355+00:002016-11-09T23:10:16.355+00:00Michael,
section 10. as our actual self, God does ...Michael,<br />section 10. as our actual self, God does not do anything<br />"As he actually is, God is just our real self, which never does anything or knows anything, but just is, so as such he has no function whatsoever."<br />"...happen by the special power of his mere presence, just as all the life processes...due the mere presence of the sun:"<br />To know how God actually is is possible only by being God itself which means to be aware of nothing other than himself. To know that he is just pure self-awareness, which is intransitive, can alone be called real knowledge. That knowledge we can have only when our ego is merged within and lost in him. How can we bear the misery to vegetate without (having) that knowledge ?adharanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-30692194832159854712016-11-09T22:42:58.625+00:002016-11-09T22:42:58.625+00:00Adhara,
In everything that I've read in Advai...Adhara,<br /><br />In everything that I've read in Advaita Vedanta, including from Ramana, the "why" is called a mystery.<br /><br />"Q: What is the purpose of creation?<br /><br />Ramana: It is to give rise to this question. Investigate the answer to this question, and finally abide in the supreme or rather the primal source of all, the Self. The investigation will resolve itself into a quest for the Self and it will cease only after the non-Self is sifted away and the Self realized in its purity and glory.<br />There may be any number of theories of creation. All of them extend outwardly. There will be no limit to them because time and space are unlimited. They are however only in the mind. If you see the mind, time and space are transcended and the Self is realized."Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08444422146838072196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-44008793231317482462016-11-09T21:32:16.237+00:002016-11-09T21:32:16.237+00:00Michael,
may I add to the above comment:
Does not ...Michael,<br />may I add to the above comment:<br />Does not our self-awareness, which alone is what is real, and which is therefore the adhara that underlies and supports everything that seems to exist but does not actually exist, appear as an accomplice for making possible that false appearance -at least in the view of this "not knowing" ego ? adharanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-44995222444163018772016-11-09T21:17:35.513+00:002016-11-09T21:17:35.513+00:00Michael,
section 9. The world is real not as a fin...Michael,<br />section 9. The world is real not as a finite set of forms but only as its formless substratum<br />"Likewise, according to Bhagavan what we now mistake to be this world is only our actual self, which alone is real and which is just pure self-awareness, so the world is an illusory appearance superimposed upon our actual self, and hence our actual self is the ādhāra that underlies and supports the false appearance of the world."<br />The question arises whether our actual self is aware of being the adhara that underlies and supports the false appearance of the world.<br />If so (why) does it continue willingly to be the adhara ?adharanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-43976370293968441862016-11-06T19:02:48.312+00:002016-11-06T19:02:48.312+00:00adhisthana
What I wrote in point 3, seems to be t...adhisthana<br /><br />What I wrote in point 3, seems to be the same as your take on the subject, namely that we can never know for certain that the world experiences its own existence. However, an insentient computer can be provided with digital 'senses' like thermometer, anemometer, and the like which enables it to experience and know some of the phenomena in the world. Thus to be rigorous in expressing a logical statement, I presented my argument in the words '[the world is] not certainly known to itself', which accounts for the fact that even if a machine can 'sense' temperature like our skin can, it is not certain to know that it exists, unlike our eternal self-awareness. <br /><br /><br />Sri Michael James may reply to your questions when he finds time. Presently, I will peruse some of the articles in this free-for-all treasure trove of the essence of vedantic teachings provided to us as a raft to cross this ocean of action to the shore of repose. I may respond to your other queries afterwards. Foolish Tenth Mannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-69462327835235648222016-11-06T18:04:08.482+00:002016-11-06T18:04:08.482+00:00Foolish Tenth Man,
thanks for your answer.
Regardi...Foolish Tenth Man,<br />thanks for your answer.<br />Regarding the conclusion what the world is, I do not concur with what you say in point 3. because the physical/material world as such seems to have no awareness/consciousness to know itself.<br />I agree on your statement that self-awareness exists in all the three states.<br />But could this 'I' as the ego-mind have "slept peacefully" though it was not present but absent then. <br />What do we call "sleep" ?<br />Who is actually the sleeper or the sleeping subject ?<br />The gross body and some of its functions are resting in sleep. The dreaming ego-mind had its dream and did not sleep. The eternal presence of our real self-awareness does not sleep at all, because it is present permanently. Can we call the simultaneous absence of this ego-mind during dreamless sleep as "sleep" ? Which sheats (of the five)are really envolved in that what we call sleep ?<br />There is obviously a need for an exact analyse/clarification about the term "sleep". We should address that questions to Michael James in order to shed light on that topic. adhisthananoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-78602836586161528102016-11-06T15:33:03.589+00:002016-11-06T15:33:03.589+00:00adhistana
Please ignore this comment if your ques...adhistana<br /><br />Please ignore this comment if your questions were rhetorical. Following is my response to them.<br /><br /><br /><i>how do you know what the world is ?</i><br /><br />In our experience, the gross world is a series of changing sense impressions. Sense impressions include sight, sound, smell, taste, and tactile feeling. There is nothing in our experience which can point to the existence of this world apart from our experience of it from our sense impressions. The master of these senses is the mind, which is what ultimately experiences and interprets them. A distinguishing power of this mind is its power of attention. It can choose what impressions to experience. For instance, if we are engrossed in reading, we may not hear someone sitting right beside us calling our name in an audible voice. Moreover, it is the mind which decides how to interpret the impressions. <br /><br />We may agree that mind is what thinks all thoughts. For instance, our experience of dreams, based upon our memory of it now, is series of thoughts thought by our mind. Since we now concur that dreams, while they certainly seemed to be real while we experienced them, are unreal, we have to doubt the veracity of our assumption in the existence of this world independent of our experience of it. This statement is augmented by our non-experience of a world in the state of sleep, where we continue to experience the consciousness of our own existence.<br /><br />In conclusion, the world is <br />1. not eternal <br />2. not immutable<br />3. not certainly known to itself<br /><br /><br /><i>How do you know that our self-awareness exists eternally in the three alternating states of waking, dream and sleep ?</i><br /><br />We can only answer this question by considering <i>who</i> experiences these states. We will concur that it is 'I' that am now awake, 'I' who dreamed last night, and 'I' who slept peacefully. Thus, our consciousness of our existence, or our self-awareness, exists eternally in the tree alternating states of waking, dream, and sleep. Foolish Tenth Mannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-77788700909259535142016-11-06T13:55:07.131+00:002016-11-06T13:55:07.131+00:00Foolish Tenth Man,
how do you know what the world ...Foolish Tenth Man,<br />how do you know what the world is ?<br />How do you know that our self-awareness exists eternally in the three alternating states of waking, dream and sleep ?adhisthananoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-28127931741490487802016-11-04T04:32:21.643+00:002016-11-04T04:32:21.643+00:00Ken
[...]In other words, the viewpoint of the res...Ken<br /><br /><i>[...]In other words, the viewpoint of the result of sadhana being a negative thing - the end of the universe - a cold, dark void - what often comes to mind from the Buddhist terms "void" or "nirvana", can cause students to not be enthusiastic about practice, which would hinder realisation.</i><br /><br />Each one of us cannot but help love that state which involves the 'end of the universe'. I am referring to the state of deep dreamless sleep. No matter how pleasurable or miserable our existence in this world is, each one of willingly foregoes all thoughts about the same every time we go to sleep. The void of sleep - which more accurately is only a void of transitive awareness - does not affect the intransitive awareness which is all that remains in sleep.<br /><br />As a student of the incomparable teachings of our guru, it behooves us to be conceptually clear about the teachings, based upon an impartial analysis of our experience of three alternating states of waking, dream and sleep. The result of the sadhana - from the perspective of this ego - will be the clear experience of intransitive awareness and consequent cessation of all transitive awareness. In other words, it would be a state similar to sleep due to absence of transitive awareness, but different from it in that there will be full clarity of self awareness, which seems to be lacking in sleep. <br /><br /><br /><i>[...]What that means is that there will not be a change in what exists, after realisation. The world will exist just as much as it does now.</i><br /><br />What exits is immutable, so it will never undergo a change. The world - which is nothing but an aggregate of changing phenomena - is something which seems to exist in the view of this ego, just like a snake mistaken for a rope exist in the view of the onlooker. The world at best only <i>seems to exist</i>, whereas our self awareness exists eternally in all states, immutable and self shining. Foolish Tenth Mannoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-82728131453952298232016-11-03T23:51:42.165+00:002016-11-03T23:51:42.165+00:00Ken,
"ego and world have never existed."...Ken,<br />"ego and world have never existed."<br />Consquently that statements have never existed too.<br />Why care about what exists "after realisation" when non-realisation has never existed ?<br />To conjecture about the view of jnana or to rely on such conjectures is not helpful in practice. We seemingly ignorant ones should primarily try to eradicate our ignorance in order to know and be the real.eight eighthnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-78921355377797437132016-11-03T17:02:45.598+00:002016-11-03T17:02:45.598+00:00Foolish tenth man,
One of the points of the story...Foolish tenth man,<br /><br />One of the points of the story that gave us your name, is that (as Ramana and Sadhu Om have told us), bondage has never existed, and the ego has never existed. So then if it is also true that the world's existence is dependent on the existence of the ego, then the world has never existed.<br /><br />What that means is that there will not be a <b>change</b> in what exists, after realisation. The world will exist just as much as it does now.<br /><br />Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08444422146838072196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-27402389103143790772016-11-03T16:57:35.525+00:002016-11-03T16:57:35.525+00:00Venkat wrote:
"Having a concept / expectation...Venkat wrote:<br />"Having a concept / expectation of what happens in liberation is a preconception for the ego to cling to, as opposed to being wholly detached and desireless, even for liberation."<br /><br />Yes, but I think it can work the opposite way as well. (And we may be seeing that with Dragos' recent comments.)<br /><br />In other words, the viewpoint of the result of sadhana being a negative thing - the end of the universe - a cold, dark void - what often comes to mind from the Buddhist terms "void" or "nirvana", can cause students to not be enthusiastic about practice, which would hinder realisation.<br />Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08444422146838072196noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-42142069663517526162016-11-03T13:52:20.170+00:002016-11-03T13:52:20.170+00:00venkat,
as you recommend in the last paragraph of ...venkat,<br />as you recommend in the last paragraph of your above comment:<br />firstly we have to turn off/eliminate/dismiss this ego. After that any speculation about the conduct/behaviour of awareness in egoless state out of sheer curiosity will be unnecessary.<br />jnanagninoreply@blogger.com