tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post5766545260239284407..comments2023-10-16T13:06:42.360+01:00Comments on Happiness of Being: The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi: How can we be sure that we can wake up from this dream of our present life?Michael Jameshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03460943269122289281noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-17258524660952386692019-06-26T18:46:19.992+01:002019-06-26T18:46:19.992+01:00Anadi-ananta,
Whenever there is ego there is the ...Anadi-ananta,<br /><br />Whenever there is ego there is the appearance of the world. <br /><br />'Let us assume that pure awareness cannot be affected by any separate world appearance.' <br /><br />As paint remains unaffected by the pictures (sad or happy) painted with it. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-18889354892534285942019-06-26T13:14:09.758+01:002019-06-26T13:14:09.758+01:00Lewis Oakwood,
when you say "There certainly ...Lewis Oakwood,<br />when you say "There certainly is the appearance of a world but, currently, my understanding is that that world is not my true nature." you may also consider:<br />if there is no ego but only pure awareness, to whom could appear any world ?<br />Let us assume that pure awareness cannot be affected by any separate world appearance. <br />anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-89857709845427205062019-06-26T09:19:00.073+01:002019-06-26T09:19:00.073+01:00Hello Michael,
Recently, while putting into prac...Hello Michael, <br /><br />Recently, while putting into practice ātma-vicāra there seems to be the subtle hint that there is indeed a world but, it is only imagined which could be likened to the attention drifting away from the current situation and into a daydream and in that sense, the daydream appears but only as a fabrication. So, the world exists only in/as thought. <br /><br />So, this whole thing is not about making the world disappear (or trying to live in a state where the appearance of the world is no longer present) instead, to see that the world is a mental fabrication and therefore, not my true self. <br /><br />Michael, how accurate is this point of view which I gather is only the view of ego (the focus of attention away from its source: Awareness.) <br /><br />Almost as though awareness sometimes wonders what it would be like if it had a body and lived in a world of other things. — <br /><br />You would probably not phrase it that way but, it's just a mental picture to create some kind of sense of it. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-54584003513367967972019-06-26T08:45:05.705+01:002019-06-26T08:45:05.705+01:00Hello Anadi-ananta,
'When ego is eradicated ...Hello Anadi-ananta, <br /><br />'When ego is eradicated then what remains is our real nature of pure self-awareness...Because there is actually nothing but pure awareness - how could there be any appearance of any world?' <br /><br />There certainly is the appearance of a world but, currently, my understanding is that that world is not my true nature. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-78188227784638850472019-06-25T23:41:09.036+01:002019-06-25T23:41:09.036+01:00Thanks Michael,
so in my next 'other dream'...Thanks Michael,<br />so in my next 'other dream' I will try at least "a little self-attentiveness".:-) anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-64568616189843478252019-06-25T22:56:50.617+01:002019-06-25T22:56:50.617+01:00Anadi-ananta, our present state is just a dream, s...Anadi-ananta, our present state is just a dream, so if we can be self-attentive in this dream, we can be self-attentive just as well in any other dream. However, in many dreams our attachment to whatever body we then mistake to be ourself is less strong than our attachment to the body we now mistake to be ourself, so when such is the case even a little self-attentiveness will cause us to wake up (that is, to return to this dream or to begin some other dream).Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03460943269122289281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-68936363074729832732019-06-25T22:04:27.938+01:002019-06-25T22:04:27.938+01:00Lewis Oakwood,
when ego is eradicated then what re...Lewis Oakwood,<br />when ego is eradicated then what remains is our real nature of pure self-awareness.<br />Because there is actually nothing but pure awareness - how could there be any appearance of any world ?anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-9203267799762762972019-06-25T21:52:50.794+01:002019-06-25T21:52:50.794+01:00Michael,
regarding your last reply to me,
can one ...Michael,<br />regarding your last reply to me,<br />can one actually try to be self-attentive also in dream ? anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-55685418686685578842019-06-24T21:58:16.699+01:002019-06-24T21:58:16.699+01:00Hello Michael,
These are not questions I am just...Hello Michael, <br /><br />These are not questions I am just thinking out loud (so to speak.) <br /><br />It's almost as though awareness drifts off into the states of waking and dream and then goes back into the state of being without identification to a dream-body: dreamless sleep. <br /><br />How can we be sure that the so-called natural state of self-awareness also isn't another dream state, I mean, perhaps there is some state beyond awareness that is unattainable/unknowable that dreams all three states: Sleep, dream and waking. <br /><br />Just because in sleep there isn't any experience of a body doesn't mean that there isn't one. Maybe sleep is simply a state in which there doesn't appear to be an experience of a body. <br /><br />Also, there does appear to be a difference between the states of waking and dream in the sense that in a dream all sorts of weird things happen and in a haphazard manner: small dinosaurs pushing trolleys around while shopping in the local supermarket and then suddenly they're gone and on the t.v someone reading the news announces that a lollipop has become prime minister. <br /><br />And, I am confused by — 'So long as we are aware of anything other than ourself, we are aware of ourself as ego, the false awareness ‘I am this body’, so in order to be aware of ourself as we actually are we need to cease being aware of anything else whatsoever.' — <br /><br />This leaves me with the impression that should the ego be 'eradicated' there would exist only the dreamless state and no experience except that of ourself as awareness without content/the appearance of the world. <br /><br />Thank you. <br /><br />Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-20112677794942738222019-06-24T20:56:49.985+01:002019-06-24T20:56:49.985+01:00Michael,
many thanks for your reply.
Unfortunately...Michael,<br />many thanks for your reply.<br />Unfortunately the copied sentence "...whereas in sleep we are aware of ourself without being aware of ourself as 'I am this body' and without being aware of anything other than ourself." did not appear in my first comment - obviously with using the signs < and >.<br />As you explain it is highly necessary to intensify my practical attempts of keen self-investigation. <br />anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-16941912338156613382019-06-24T20:32:08.039+01:002019-06-24T20:32:08.039+01:00Anandi-ananta, you should be able to verify all of...Anandi-ananta, you should be able to verify all of that from your own experience. Are you not clearly aware that you slept? That is, that you existed in a state in which you were not aware of any phenomena — anything other than yourself? How can you be aware of having been in such a state if you were not aware of being in it while you were in it?<br /><br />This should be quite clear to you, particularly if you consider your experience carefully and deeply. If it is not yet clear enough, the only way to make it clear is to persevere in trying to be self-attentive as much as you can be while in waking or dream. The more you become familiar with being aware of yourself as something distinct from any phenomena (that is, from anything that appears or disappears in your awareness), the clearer it will become to you that you were clearly aware of yourself in sleep, even though you were then not aware of anything else whatsoever.Michael Jameshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03460943269122289281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-24630163681106462012019-06-24T20:22:09.711+01:002019-06-24T20:22:09.711+01:00Michael,
sorry, in my second comment I forgot to i...Michael,<br />sorry, in my second comment I forgot to insert the third part (3.)<<>> of the mentioned statement. anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-84563091036897916212019-06-24T20:03:15.925+01:002019-06-24T20:03:15.925+01:00Michael,
"In sleep there is no ego, because w...Michael,<br />"In sleep there is no ego, because we are not then aware of ourself as ‘I am this body’, and consequently there is no awareness of anything else."<br />Again you show us the negative differentiation. But what awareness is then actually present in sleep ?anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-61429427718321341782019-06-24T19:52:49.887+01:002019-06-24T19:52:49.887+01:00Michael,
"When we are not aware of ourself as...Michael,<br />"When we are not aware of ourself as 'I am this body', as in sleep, we are not aware of anything other than ourself."<br />That is only a negative differentiation/demarcation.<br />But can we and if yes how can we verify what we are actually aware of in sleep ? anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-44144131334277958222019-06-24T19:43:17.073+01:002019-06-24T19:43:17.073+01:00Michael,
and also the third part of the mentioned ...Michael,<br />and also the third part of the mentioned statement "<<>>" should be practically verifiable. anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7345918888953765241.post-40297175123708616852019-06-24T19:36:10.712+01:002019-06-24T19:36:10.712+01:00Michael,
the cardinal question is: what practical ...Michael,<br />the cardinal question is: what practical verifiability do we have for the first part of the saying that "...(1.) (2.)<< without being aware of any body at all >>" ? anadi-anantahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08815024045988099944noreply@blogger.com