New Book
about Sri Ramana Maharshi's Teachings on Self Enquiry
“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.”
Pravrajika Divyanandaprana
Sri Sarada Math, Ramakrishna Sarada Mission, in Delhi
Available for Preorder. Shipped by March 1st
OPEN SKY PRESS
Vichara – Self Enquiry
A Selection of Self Enquiry Teachings
based on the 1936 Diary by Sri Gajapathi Aiyyer
Vichara offers a fresh and focused exploration of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi’s most profound teaching: Self-enquiry. It also provides an intimate glimpse into life at the Ramana Ashram in 1936, a period when Bhagavan’s teachings also began reaching Western seekers.
Following the success of the first volume, Aham Sphurana – A Glimpse of Self-Realisation, this second volume delves deeper into the practice of Self-enquiry, which Bhagavan described as the fastest and most direct path to Self-realisation. Through a careful selection of his teachings, Vichara reveals how Self-enquiry dissolves the ego, bringing the seeker face-to-face with their True Nature. This book stands out as an essential guide of timeless insights into Bhagavan’s most potent path to the Self, unlocking the transformative power of Self-enquiry.
In 1936, at fifty-six years old, Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi was a vibrant and active Master, embodying pure Self-knowledge. Born in 1879, he is one of the most renowned and recent of India’s great Sages, Saints, and Spiritual Masters. At just sixteen, he experienced a spontaneous awakening, leaving his home inMadurai to live at the sacred mountain of Arunachala in Tiruvannamalai, where he taught and guided seekers until his passing in 1950. His luminous presence shines through this profound book, offering transformative wisdom for those on the path to spiritual awakening.
‘All methods, if persevered long enough, eventually lead up only to Vichara. ... Vichara begins to have significant effect after the aspirant is able to plainly distinguish between the inward-turned and outward-turned mind, avoids the latter, and dwells instead in the former. As soon as he observes that his mind is wandering. Start with the practice. The rest is automatic and it is only a matter of time before the mind is annihilated in the Heart.’
Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi
Foreword
By Pravrajika Divyanandaprana
Pravrajika Divyanandaprana from the Sri Sarada Math, Ramakrishna Sarada Mission in Delhi has written a Wonderfull foreword for the book. She is a respected teacher and spiritual guide, specialising in Yoga-Vedanta and the teachings of Sri Ramakrishna & Sri Sarada Devi.
Here an excerpt from her foreword:
“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. This 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
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More Excerpts
Taken from the new book ‘Vichara’
Rooting Out the Ego and Persevering on the Path
Q: Which is genuine Vichara – asking myself Who am I? every time a thought arises or keenly investigating the problem of who I am?
B: The latter. If you want to get rid of a poisonous tree, do you lop off its leaves one by one? What is the use of such an approach? In the time it takes for you to cut down one leaf, leaves multitudinous in number and multifarious in variety would have sprouted forth from the vicious tree. Instead, attack the poisonous root of illusion, namely the ahamvritti, straightaway!
Danger of Emptiness [shunyastithi]
Bhagavan: ( )…Otherwise, the aspirant will in all likelihood unknowingly mistake the shunyastithi [state of emptiness] to be Jnana and rest in it, eventually becoming hopelessly lost.
It is an unfortunate fact that many teachers of meditation tutor shunyastithi and purposely delude their pupils into believing that it is Jnana.
Shunyastithi [state of emptiness] is a deadly spiritual poison.
It drives one away from the Heart, thereafter the lost ground has to be recovered all the way by means of doubling-back if Jnana is to be reached. That is why meditation is not encouraged here, but only Vichara.
BE As You Are
Bhagavan: People are so obsessed with and enamoured by mental activity that they imagine that by some special kind of mental activity, such as meditation, for instance, the Self can be duped into revealing Itself. It is not so. Only complete cessation of mental activity can reveal the Self. Giving up the personal self or the idea of the seekers existence, should, again, be volitionless and unconditional; it should not be driven by any motive.
Ripe Souls Attain Jnana
Bhagavan: People are so obsessed with and enamoured by mental activity that they imagine that by some special kind of mental activity, such as meditation, for instance, the Self can be duped into revealing Itself. It is not so. Only complete cessation of mental activity can reveal the Self. Giving up the personal self or the idea of the seekers existence, should, again, be volitionless and unconditional; it should not be driven by any motive.
How we Sabotage Vichara
Chadwick: [unhappily] I have been staying here for months. I see no improvement in me. If anything, my condition seems to be taking a turn for the worse. I am desperate to Realise in this lifetime
B: Give up the idea that you are striving for Realisation.
Am I doing Vichara Correctly?
Q: What are the indicators based on which I shall be enabled to find out for myself whether I am doing vichara correctly or not?
B: If vichara has resulted in a state of mind wherein it abides as identical with pure Subjective Consciousness, then you have done it correctly. However, it is not easy for the neophyte to tell whether his mind is presently abiding as identical with pure Subjective Consciousness, because the torpid mental state of manolayam [state where mind structures are hazily projected] is often mistakenly regarded as being the tabula-rasa mental state of pure Subjective Consciousness.
Sex and the Self
Bhagavan: People are so obsessed with and enamoured by mental activity that they imagine that by some special kind of mental activity, such as meditation, for instance, the Self can be duped into revealing Itself. It is not so. Only complete cessation of mental activity can reveal the Self. Giving up the personal self or the idea of the seekers existence, should, again, be volitionless and unconditional; it should not be driven by any motive.
Complete Cessation of Mental Activity
Bhagavan: People are so obsessed with and enamoured by mental activity that they imagine that by some special kind of mental activity, such as meditation, for instance, the Self can be duped into revealing Itself. It is not so. Only complete cessation of mental activity can reveal the Self. Giving up the personal self or the idea of the seekers existence, should, again, be volitionless and unconditional; it should not be driven by any motive.
The Secret of Jnana is Bhakti
B.: Is it the mind that wants to kill the mind? The mind cannot kill the mind. Anything that you endeavour to ‘do’ with the mind will only reinforce and perpetuate the notion of mind. Rather than pointlessly wondering, ‘How shall I eradicate the mind?’, go on seeking the mind. Incessant search for what mind is results in its disappearance.
The thing to do is to completely ignore the objects that appear by the reflected light of the mind, and instead seek the source of the mind’s illumination. If the source of the mind is continuously sought for, it begins to subside.
