Various levels of knowledge arise from human observation and experience. Classified and categorized they fall under the landscape of the different sciences — objective and subjective. Mind sciences and life sciences have arrived at the fringe of concepts like prana [breath], will or intent and consciousness. But what the reader will find in this book is mind-bending. The book, which is a compilation of Sri Ramana Maharishi’s teachings drawn from the notes of Gajapathi, during his six-month stay in 1936 at Bhagavan’s feet, presents a completely new paradigm, a revolutionary view from a vantage point quite beyond mind. It reveals stunning insights into the very core of human consciousness — a peak into the Unchanging Self. Beyond logic and intellectualising, way beyond our persona and thinking faculties, lies the Atman, the True Self of man, which is most immediate and direct, and yet utterly beyond cogitation and speculation. 

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi embodied pure Self-knowledge, the condensed essence of the Upanishads [sacred scriptures] and the Vedic [most important scriptures in Hinduism] wisdom. Radiant with the light from the very source of all knowledge, the silent Sage of Arunachala, offers incisive pathbreaking insights into the fundamental ground of all perception, cognition and mentation – Pure Being. For the seeker or sadhaka the Maharishi’s words are pure nectar coming from the very fount of existence. Openly direct and convincing, they speak to the soul rather than the mind.

“Do not go on discussing or talking about it. Do not tell yourself, ‘First I shall obtain intellectual mastery over the technique and subsequently shall begin the application thereof.’ Instead – plunge into the practice HERE and NOW; stick to the teachings of any one Mahanubhavar [Great enlightened Being], and all will come right in the end.’’ 

Masters are there only to show you the way. Man fogs the fulfilment of their purpose by merely theorising or intellectualising about their respective lives, advents and teachings, such as asking,

‘Is this one or that one a Siddhapurusha [Perfected being], Muktapurusha [Liberated soul], or an Avatarapurusha [Divine incarnation] ?’ 

Of course, these are your mental concepts only. In fact, the Master, being not at all different from the formless Absolute seated in the tabernacle of the Sacred Heart of Man, is really synonymous with your own True Self and that being so, why seek him anywhere else?

The path of Ramana Maharishi yields the experiential feel of pure Being. It is gained through incisive Self-enquiry. It is not the path of belief nor of concepts or processes. When asked if the highest state of realisation could be made possible by giving up the idea of individuality, the Maharishi answers, 

“You may persuade yourself into believing, ‘I am not the body but the Self.’ The consequence will be that your troubles will only increase. One set of mental concepts has been substituted with another.” 

The questioner counters, “What sadhana [practice] should I do then?”

And the light shines forth, “You need not do anything except to dwell incessantly and intensely on the inner sense of ‘I’. That is good sadhana.” 

Thought, ideation, mentation and memory have all been put into place by the might of the Maharishi’s Realisation.

When asked, “Is it not good to remember all the time that I am the Self?”

He answers, “And who is the one who is doing the remembering? He is not the Self. He is an arbitrary mental conceptualisation of the mind masquerading as the actual Real Self.”

Bhagavan did not just put the mind in place, but also the visions born of long meditative practices. On page 54 of this book, we have the experience of such a devotee. Bhagavan’s words sent him into a paroxysm of joy and bliss before the very eyes of those present in the hall. 

Later when Bhagavan was asked – This fortunate man who left now – did Bhagavan just give him an experience of the Sahajastithi [natural state] ? 

Bhagavan casually replied, “His mind began to subside in the Heart, and the bliss was objectified as the object of his long contemplation or meditation, manifesting externally as a stupefying vision of mesmerising charm. If the bliss is understood to be not apart from one’s Self, one will stop attempting meditation and simply resolve oneself into THAT WHICH IS.”

The uniqueness of the Upanishadic path unfolds in the Maharishi’s acute observations, 

“Asking ‘Who am I?’ is the only sadhana which is such that the one making it is the same as the one in relation to whom it is made. The snake bites its own tail.”

The milestones along the path of vichara are clearly outlined – “How will the ‘I’-‘I’ consciousness manifest itself when the Heart is reached? Will I recognise it?”

Bhagavan replies, “Certainly, as pure Subjective Consciousness, free from all thought. It is pristine, unbroken awareness of the Beingness of the Self; there is no mistaking it when it remains uncontaminated by thought or by the faculty of the intellect. When the Aham Sphurana actually flashes forth, you will know it alright. Cognition of the Aham Sphurana is not based on intellectual corroboration. It is a direct experience of the Self, inferior only to the Sahajastithi of the Jnani [the Self-realised Sage].” 

Q: Is the Aham Sphurana something that is felt only by ripe souls?

B: Yes. 

Q: What are the others to do then? 

B: (smiling) Ripen themselves! 

Q: How? 

B: Vichara abhyasa [Self-enquiry practice] is the way.”

There are faculties higher than the intellect that hold the power to penetrate the laws of existence. Intuition is one such faculty manifest in a developed mind and heart. Our intuition knows and points at things which our informed mind and logic can never know nor explain. With this power up his sleeve, Bhagavan would effortlessly harmonise the paths of Bhakti [devotion] and Jnana [spiritual knowledge].

“The secret of Jnana is Bhakti. Unselfish love, motiveless, incessant, intransigent love, is the key that unlocks the gate of the Heart once and for all.”

That immortal love, which swallows up all the cares and worries of life and liberates the mind unasked, comes into the life of the sincere aspirant as the very fruit of Jnana. The Jnani radiates this divine love by his very presence and purifies and unifies our divided world. The book in the hands of the reader is a work of such power. The pristine, pure mind of the Master that speaks through this profound volume is bound to bring us to an awakening into the most obvious yet hidden truth of our own existence. Om Sri Ramanaya Namaha!  

Pravrajika Divyanandaprana, Sri Sarada Math, 

Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, Delhi