tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post1874537196911882922..comments2023-10-16T13:06:42.360+01:00Comments on Happiness of Being: The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi: How can we just be?Michael Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03460943269122289281noreply@blogger.comBlogger185125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-50239885565706251622020-05-06T06:19:02.365+01:002020-05-06T06:19:02.365+01:00I understand that by only being self-attentive can...I understand that by only being self-attentive can we eradicate the ego forever. I just wonder if the self we are being attentive to is our ego or true self? I have heard you say before that when the ego looks at itself it will realise it doesn't exist and thus disappear leaving only the true self (self awareness), but in here you say that the ego should look directly at it's true nature and thus take flight. Is there a difference? If so, what is the difference?Daniele Tomasihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12877438344115620880noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-37324919895910465662020-04-15T18:48:13.893+01:002020-04-15T18:48:13.893+01:00Salazar,
re. your issued warning about the mention...Salazar,<br />re. your issued warning about the mentioned auxiliary verbs ("Could" or "can") because "these words are inherently infused with doubt" and are therefore "the epitome of the phantom ego",<br /><br />When we know that the ego is only a counterfeiting of real self-awareness we are certainly in the position to keep a vigilant eye on it and to counteract that spurious phantom - just without fear of its epitomes. anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-43814643878046156182020-04-15T16:54:35.839+01:002020-04-15T16:54:35.839+01:00anadi-ananta, as usual you do not get my point gle...anadi-ananta, as usual you do not get my point gleaning from your last comment. So be it.. .https://www.blogger.com/profile/03243347924405863536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-45532934747970216872020-04-14T23:48:56.649+01:002020-04-14T23:48:56.649+01:00Salazar,
you ask what the point is of my reply to ...Salazar,<br />you ask what the point is of my reply to Asun (13 April 2020 at 23:49). <br />In the mentioned comment I used a subjunctive construction. As is generally known: "Could" is the modal verb past of can or subjunctive mood of 'can'. Here the subjunctive form indicates possibility. Therefore I expressed nothing other but that the availability of sufficient clarity and keen one-pointed attention could enable one to recognize (one's own) pure awareness in the gap between two thoughts.<br />Re. your esteemed announcement:"After all these years you are frequenting this blog, you still are commenting the obvious. It's like one is saying, ice is cold and fire is hot."<br />I am always grateful for impartial criticism. Anyway, not each one is privileged to enjoy your constant attention. :-) anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-58919414828482844722020-04-14T22:06:20.136+01:002020-04-14T22:06:20.136+01:00This comment has been removed by the author..https://www.blogger.com/profile/12379570382779918899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-66507285331602700882020-04-14T21:32:50.363+01:002020-04-14T21:32:50.363+01:00"Could" or "can" implies uncer..."Could" or "can" implies uncertainty and possible failure, in fact these words are bondage itself. These words need to vanish from the mind of a devotee. Otherwise it will always be "it could ..." or "it may ...", these words are inherently infused with doubt, they are the epitome of the phantom ego.<br /><br />. .https://www.blogger.com/profile/03243347924405863536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-30188545434696621762020-04-14T17:26:35.087+01:002020-04-14T17:26:35.087+01:00With what attitude does a true sadhu beg for food?...<b>With what attitude does a true sadhu beg for food?</b><br /><br />A friend: Bhagavan said that when he went begging, he felt like an emperor. How do we understand this statement of his?<br /><br />Michael: Everything Bhagavan said he said in a particular context. I suspect he said this to some sadhus telling them that going begging for food is not a shameful thing. If a sadhu is going begging in the correct spirit, then he is not going begging people. They are going looking to see where God has kept food for them.<br /><br />So it’s a state of complete dependence on divine grace. If you are a sadhu who goes begging, some days you will get no food, some days you may get stale food, and some days you may get a feast. Whatever you get, you accept it with equanimity feeling that is what God has given you that day. So it was perhaps in this sense that Bhagavan would have said when he went begging for food he felt like an emperor. <br /><br />• Based on the video: <i>2020-04-11 Ramana Maharshi Foundation UK: discussion with Michael James on Ēkāṉma Pañcakam verse 5 (1:39)</i><br /><br />Sanjay Lohiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02384912997886218824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-32507703431150119442020-04-14T17:04:39.191+01:002020-04-14T17:04:39.191+01:00anadi-ananta, you said in a reply to Asun, "W...anadi-ananta, you said in a reply to Asun, "We could experience it quite well but plainly do not discern/recognize it as such due lack of clarity and keen one-pointed attention, as you say."<br /><br />May I ask, what is the point of this comment? We "could" but we "can't" because ......<br /><br />After all these years you are frequenting this blog, you still are commenting the obvious. It's like one is saying, ice is cold and fire is hot.<br /><br />The Tao of Bhagavan, let's lament that we are ego and emphasize its shortcomings. We could be free but we are not because we lack freedom :-). .https://www.blogger.com/profile/03243347924405863536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-19373040813359611512020-04-14T16:55:47.773+01:002020-04-14T16:55:47.773+01:00anadi-ananta, you said "can most likely be an...anadi-ananta, you said "can most likely be answered by the inventor of night-time".<br /><br />I am not sure what you mean with "inventor". If you say the inventor is mind/ego then that's the point, it can NOT be answered by it. If you mean the "inventor" is God or whatever you'd like to name it then what has that to do with the original point I made that "remaining as pure awareness in deep sleep" is NOT everyone's direct experience what you are claiming is the case.<br /><br />It is only an IMAGINED "direct experience" by your mind based on what you've read. It is your imagination and nothing else!<br /><br />It is not your direct experience because you are not aware of it. Why? Because you identify with the body. <br /><br />Thus, it is not everyone's direct experience, only as an imagination of mind. That is called maya or samsara. <br /><br />. .https://www.blogger.com/profile/03243347924405863536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-1629244827907978442020-04-14T16:17:04.021+01:002020-04-14T16:17:04.021+01:00Today, 70 years ago, Friday, 14 April 1950 at 20:4...Today, 70 years ago, Friday, 14 April 1950 at 20:47(8:47 p.m.) Indian Standard Time (IST):<br />Tiruvannamalai, Sri Ramanasramam, Nirvana Room,<br />Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi left his mortal remains.<br />Arunachala Siva, Arunachala Siva, Arunachala Siva... anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-47036752426606262152020-04-14T14:54:27.932+01:002020-04-14T14:54:27.932+01:00Asun, I hear you and the point you are making betw...Asun, I hear you and the point you are making between self and what is not self. That makes sense. What does not make sense is your tamas explanation because deep sleep, as I said before, cannot be at all tamas.<br /><br />In the waking state when we get tired or lethargic then we are in a tamasic state, however as soon as the conscious mind has drifted away from the perception of the gross body/world it enters a very subtle and actually sattvic state, the anandamaya kosha, some call it also the "bliss-body".<br /><br />The reason why we wake up refreshed in the morning, or returning to the perception of the gross body/world, is because we spent time in that very blissful, sattvic state which "rejuvenates" the mind. If deep sleep would be tamas then, if we then actually could awake, we would be even more exhausted because there was no true rest for the mind being always in tamas {as you insist).<br /><br />Actually there are yogis who can enter the anandamaya kosha consciously at will (different path and not what Bhagavan recommends) and it is said that many advanced yogis get stuck at the anandamaya kosha or "deep sleep" level because they are satisfied with the constant bliss without going all the way to manonasa.<br /><br />So deep sleep, as also implied by Bhagavan, is bliss and rather sattvic (if one needs to pick a guna) and for sure NOT tamas. Asun, you seem to lack some knowledge about the koshas what you really not need but then you do when you make false assumptions ....Purification of mind does NOT reflect on one’s outward behavior, a purified mind is no mind and any perceived behavior is illusionhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03403745904820287115noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-32735677646307224172020-04-14T14:00:08.612+01:002020-04-14T14:00:08.612+01:002020-04-11 Ramana Maharshi Foundation UK: discussi...2020-04-11 Ramana Maharshi Foundation UK: discussion with Michael James on Ēkāṉma Pañcakam verse 5<br /><br />https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vomVs22sPKMRob Phttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16774159045676419103noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-82530786672498144482020-04-14T10:39:33.138+01:002020-04-14T10:39:33.138+01:00Asun, of course I meant "due lack of clarity&...Asun, of course I meant "due lack of clarity".anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-46672771757251582762020-04-14T10:06:32.099+01:002020-04-14T10:06:32.099+01:00Bhagavan says that mere thought of Arunachala is s...<b>Bhagavan says that mere thought of Arunachala is sufficient</b><br /><br />Someone sent me an unpublished video of Michael. The following is an extract from this video:<br /><br />A friend: What are the spiritual benefits of living in Tiruvannamalai? Do you miss being there?<br /><br />Michael: We are all living in Tiruvannamalai even now. Though we are living far away, Arunachala is ever shining in our heart as ‘I’, so we are never actually away. There is a definite benefit of living in Tiruvannamalai, but Bhagavan knows what medicine we need and when. For example, I was fortunate to live there for 20 years and I was fortunate to go around Arunachala almost every day. That definitely is a great benefit, but Bhagavan knows what we need and when we need it. I was expecting to live my whole life in Tiruvannamalai, but my prarabdha was different, so Bhagavan took me away.<br /><br />Presently, Bhagavan has enabled me to think, talk and write about Bhagavan’s teachings most of the time, so that itself is same as being in Tiruvannamalai. But if Bhagavan gives us the opportunity to live in Tiruvannamalai, it is certainly beneficial. However, Bhagavan says that mere thought of Arunachala is sufficient. So the physical satsanga is the crudest form of satsanga. Much more important in mental satsanga and the best of all is atma-sanga – that is, the best is turning our attention within and trying to be self-attentive. That is the best satsanga of all. <br /><br />Bhagavan has taught us that Arunachala is always shining in our heart as arivu, the awareness ‘I’. He says the same thing about himself. So Arunachala or Bhagavan is what we actually are. So if we want their company, we just need to turn within and face self-wards. That is the best satsanga or the best Arunachala-sanga or the best Ramana-sanga.<br /><br />Sanjay Lohiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02384912997886218824noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-50919909007356936272020-04-13T23:49:30.694+01:002020-04-13T23:49:30.694+01:00Asun,
"...we don´t experience pure awareness ...Asun,<br />"...we don´t experience pure awareness in the gap between two thoughts...".<br />We could experience it quite well but plainly do not discern/recognize it as such due lack of clariy and keen one-pointed attention, as you say.anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-90442248018938194672020-04-13T23:28:08.893+01:002020-04-13T23:28:08.893+01:00Salazar,
your question "Why is there a seemin...Salazar,<br />your question "Why is there a seeming gap of time between evening and morning?"<br />can most likely be answered by the inventor of night-time.:-)anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-44002941236397754772020-04-13T23:12:03.643+01:002020-04-13T23:12:03.643+01:00This comment has been removed by the author..https://www.blogger.com/profile/12379570382779918899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-72368112852222564732020-04-13T22:39:14.844+01:002020-04-13T22:39:14.844+01:00Deep sleep must be a speculation/mystery because o...Deep sleep must be a speculation/mystery because only Bhagavan (as the synonym for self] does know. Some say (within the confines of the phenomenal world) deep sleep is the causal body or anandamaya kosha, so the most subtle body and not noticed because it's before thoughts arise. That body is supposed to "cause" the less subtle body (as the dream body, astral body) and the gross body.<br /><br />So in that case it is NOT tamas, I do not believe one can assign a particular guna to the anandamaya kosha.<br /><br />Again, that kind of knowledge may appeal to the mind but what else do we need to know but to just attend to self and leave concepts like these alone?. .https://www.blogger.com/profile/03243347924405863536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-85401210506935340362020-04-13T22:01:51.051+01:002020-04-13T22:01:51.051+01:00Asun, I do not agree. But here we drift into seman...Asun, I do not agree. But here we drift into semantics, mystery ... confusion, what's the difference, really?<br /><br />I also do not agree with that particular interpretation in the latter part of the first paragraph. But who could really know but Bhagavan? That's why it is a mystery for me. I have read what the gurus say and intellectually it has been grasped. So no confusion really. But how is that in direct experience? Total different thing now.. .https://www.blogger.com/profile/03243347924405863536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-6102175533350510362020-04-13T21:29:04.284+01:002020-04-13T21:29:04.284+01:00This comment has been removed by the author..https://www.blogger.com/profile/12379570382779918899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-9505247687670285522020-04-13T20:52:03.715+01:002020-04-13T20:52:03.715+01:00anadi-ananta, you said, "Remaining as self (p...anadi-ananta, you said, "Remaining as self (pure awareness) in deep sleep is just everyone's direct experience."<br /><br />Really? Then why are we (or who is) talking about it? Why are we doing vichara? Why is there a seeming gap of time between evening and morning?<br /><br />So in fact, the statement above is just intellectual and imaginary with the lack of true knowing. It's the mind's empty regurgitation of something it has read somewhere but has and will never experience.<br /><br />To accuse the ego of being arrogant and erroneous is quite hilarious. Why? Because it is the ego accusing itself. Does it think that this is smart or being advantageous in some way?. .https://www.blogger.com/profile/03243347924405863536noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-50249508974453414552020-04-13T20:32:12.168+01:002020-04-13T20:32:12.168+01:00Sanjay,
"...because our goal is ourself."...Sanjay,<br />"...because our goal is ourself."<br />yes,...namely ourself in our real nature.anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-42499207073297024912020-04-13T20:23:34.193+01:002020-04-13T20:23:34.193+01:00Salazar,
"...will be a mystery until it has b...Salazar,<br />"...will be a mystery until it has been directly experienced, meaning one is aware of self while in deep sleep."<br />Is it not said that this is just everyone's experience ? Remaining as self (pure awareness) in deep sleep is just everyone's direct experience. Therefore deep sleep is a mysterious phenomenon only for ego which "is not scared of deep sleep because it knows by experience that it is only temporary and that guarantees the rise of the ego [again]."<br />Yes, ego's error is to such a high extent tremendous that it is even the victim of its own delusion: the ephemeral phantom ego considers itself as permanent whereas it looks at the eternal awareness of deep sleep as only temporary. Is that not the zenith of its absurd arrogance ? :-)anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-60063125250766978572020-04-13T18:44:03.476+01:002020-04-13T18:44:03.476+01:00This comment has been removed by the author..https://www.blogger.com/profile/12379570382779918899noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-37596326001201996172020-04-13T18:05:49.458+01:002020-04-13T18:05:49.458+01:00Thoughts fail when we try to think of Bhagavan’s g...<b>Thoughts fail when we try to think of Bhagavan’s grace</b><br /><br />Someone sent me an unpublished video of Michael. The following is an extract from this video:<br /><br />What we all want is to be happy and carefree. We don’t become happy and carefree by accumulating more and more wealth or any of these things. We become happy and carefree by surrendering all our desires and attachments, our likes and dislikes along with their root, this ego. To the extent we surrender ourself to Bhagavan, to that extent we will be happy.<br /><br />How can we say how fortunate we are to have been brought to Bhagavan’s path? Words fail... words fail when we try to think of his grace. His grace is beyond our … words fail when we try to describe… thoughts fail when we try to think of his grace. So we just have to keep quiet. That is the only real way to appreciate the grace that Bhagavan has been showering upon us.<br /> <br />My reflection: Michael was actually short of words when he was trying to describe Bhagavan’s grace. <br /><br /><br />Sanjay Lohiahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02384912997886218824noreply@blogger.com