Ramana Maharshi Advaita Teaching Practice Bhakti In short Books About

Teaching




Happiness.



"Since all living beings desire to be happy always without any misery, since in everyone supreme love exists only for oneself, and since happiness alone is the cause of love, in order to obtain that happiness, which is one`s very nature and which is experienced daily in deep sleep, where there is no mind, it is necessary for one to know oneself.
For that, enquiry (jnana vichara) in the form 'Who am I?' alone is the principal means".
 ~ Ramana Maharshi, Nan Yar?



Ulicą miłą nie choć
The search for happiness is something inherent in human life. Everyone wants to achieve true, lasting happiness and enjoy it relentlessly. There is a widespread belief that the essence of happiness is pleasure, and that its uninterrupted supply ensures lasting happiness. Driven by this idea, we unceasingly chase after sensual objects that are supposed to provide us with all kinds of pleasure, constantly trying to get something, get rid of something or avoid something, while all the time being swept by waves of desires and/or fears. Desire whispers in our ears: "You must have it, then you will be happy". We believe this and set about achieving the next goals. As we pursue our desired happiness, we are still unhappy, but in our hectic rush we do not realize it. If we don't achieve what we want - we suffer. If we do achieve, it doesn't bring the desired happiness either, because immediately there is a new object of desire for which we are supposed to strive, so that we don't notice that in this way desire is constantly leading us by the nose. The mechanism of fear works similarly, the only difference being that this one makes us endlessly fear and avoid something.

As long as we cling to such an attitude being stuck in the snare of desires and fears, we have little chance to know the taste of true happiness; in fact, we find only its tiny crumbs, whose proper name is "pleasure" - pleasure and happiness are two different states, although there is something that links them.

What is this "something"?

All happiness - every crumb of it - comes in the ultimate sense from our Self. It does not come from the mind, body or external objects. No object in the world contains happiness. If one has a great desire to eat a mango, and if one eventually eats it, a feeling of great pleasure arises within him. When such a great desire is fulfilled, the mind dips a little into the Self and enjoys the little bit of happiness that is always there. Then it rises again remembering the experience of happiness, associating it with eating the mango and desiring to repeat it by eating more mangoes or satisfying similarly other desires.

Most of us are completely unaware that pleasure and happiness come from the Self, not from the mind, body or objects. Since most people have experienced a pinch of happiness and peace of the Self only when their great desire has been fulfilled, they conclude that fulfilling desires is the only way to experience happiness and peace.

If we try to follow this beaten path to happiness, we are met with disappointment and suffering. Once in a while we may experience brief moments of pleasure interspersed with long periods of disappointed hopes from satisfying desires that bring no pleasure, even when they are fulfilled.

If you repeat a given pleasure again and again the charm of novelty quickly passes. A mango you've craved eating for days may give you a few seconds of happiness, but that happiness won't be prolonged if you eat another five or six mangos; prolonged indulgence of the senses will more often bring pain than pleasure. Even the most favorite and coveted dish consumed in excess will cause stomach pain and induce disgust - and so it is with all sensual pleasures.

Most people spend their entire lives satisfying desires and pursuing pleasure-oriented goals that they believe will give them happiness. Most of them never stop to do a proper review of their accounts. If they did, they would realize that every ten seconds of happiness is interspersed with hours, days, weeks or months in which there is no feeling of happiness at all. Some people realize this, but instead of abandoning such a course of action they wade into it even more. They think that with a little more effort and a little more, sensory, mental or emotional involvement, they can lengthen the brief moments of happiness and reduce the intersecting longer periods of time when happiness is not felt.

However, such an approach will never bring success.

So is there a chance for the full, true, lasting and unbroken happiness we are looking for, and if so, where to seek it and how to find it?

We can only find the answer in one who has attained such a permanent state of unbroken happiness [sat-chit-ananda] - in a realized sage. Such a realized sage of our time is Sri Ramana Maharshi.

Ego. The real reason for the lack of happiness.



"The insentient body does not say 'I'. Existence consciousness (sat-chit, the real Self) does not rise (or subside). (But) in between (these two) an 'I' rises as the measure of the body (that is in between the body and the real Self) a limited 'I' - consciousness in the form 'I am this body' (rises in waking and subsides again in sleep). Know that this ('I am the body' - consciousness) is (what is called by various names such as) the knot between consciousness and the insentient (chit-jada-granthi), bondage (bandha), the individual soul (jiva), subtle body (sukshma sarira), ego (ahantai), this mundane state of activity (samsara) and mind (manas)".
~ Ramana Maharshi, Ulladu Narpadu



The first point he will bring to our attention is that the cause of the lack of feeling happiness and all our problems and sufferings is by no means, as we tend to believe, in the external world. "The world is fine the way it is, the fault lies with you and is caused by a mental error; all that needs to be done is to discover this fundamental error of our mind and get rid of it - then everything will be fine" - he will say. What is this error?

A man who lacks true knowledge of himself (true knowledge-awareness of who he really is), attempting to gain any knowledge, begins a search fraught with elementary error, falsifying all knowledge gained. This error is the lack of knowledge [awareness] of our true nature as it really is, and identifying ourselves with what we are not; considering the body - or mind - to be our self, and everything outside the body/mind to be non-self.

The thought-conviction: "I am this body/mind" - is the foundation of all mis-knowledge and, consequently, of all our problems and deficiencies including the primary one: the lack of a sense of happiness.

This thought brings to "life" the ego [false "I"] (1), which veils our Self [true "I"], the only source of happiness - happiness which is our true nature and for this reason so strenuously and relentlessly sought. This is how the “false self/ false 'I'"enters the stage of life and through an unconscious superimposition mechanism veils our true “I” [Self] by impersonating it and usurping its role, along with taking away our chance for true, lasting, unbroken happiness, bringing with it worries, sufferings, fears and any other misfortunes we experience.

When the ego [false self/false "I"] rises, it is perforce mistakenly identified by us with ourselves and treated as our true, essential "I", as "we" - this is the real and root cause of the lack of happiness and all human problems.

"Identifying the Self with this non-Self - this is the bondage of man, which is due to his ignorance, and brings in its train the miseries of birth and death. It is through this that one considers this evanescent body as real, and identifying oneself with it, nourishes, bathes, and preserves it by means of agreeable sense-objects, by which latter he becomes bound as the caterpillar by the threads of its cocoon.

One who is overpowered by ignoxance mistakes a thing for what it is not: It is the absence of discrimination that causes one to mistake a snake for a rope and great dangers overtake him when he seizes it through that wrong notion. Hence, listen, my friend, it is the mistaking of transitory things as real that constitutes bondage.

As Rahu veils orb of the Sun, this veiling power (avriti-shakti, tamas), which preponderates in ignorance, covers the Self [...] When one's own Self, endowed with the purest splendour, is hidden from view, a man through ignorance falsely identifies himself with this body, which is non-Self. And then the great power of rajas (vikshepa-shakti), the projecting power, sorely afflicts him through the binding fetters of lust, anger etc.

The man of deluded mind, having his self-knowledge swallowed up by the shark of utter ignorance, behaves as though the different states of the intellect were the attributes of the Self, and drifts up and down in this boundless ocean of samsara full of the poison of sense-enjoyment, now sinking, now rising — a miserable fate indeed!

As layers of clouds, generated by the sun's rays, cover the sun and appear solely in the sky, so ego, arisen from the Self, covers the Reality of the Self and appears solely by itself.

Just as, on a cloudy day, when the sun is swallowed up by dense clouds, violent cold blasts trouble them, so when the Self is hidden by intense ignorance, the dreadful vikshepa-shakti (projecting power) afflicts the foolish man with numerous griefs.

It is from these two powers (veiling power and projecting power, avriti-shakti and vikshepa-shakti) that man's bondage has proceeded - beguiled by which he mistakes the body for the Self and wanders from body to body.

Friend, this bondage of non-Self springs from ignorance, is self-caused, and is described as without beginning and end. It subjects one to the long train of miseries such as birth and death, disease and decrepitude and so forth.

Of the tree of samsara ignorance is the seed, the identification with the body is its sprout, attachment its tender leaves, work its water, the body its trunk, the vital forces its branches, the organs its twigs, the sense-objects its flowers, various miseries due to diverse works are its fruits, and the individual soul is the bird on it".
~ Sri Shankara, Vivekachudamani



This false "I" is highly peculiar thing, seemingly combining in itself two completely different components: insentient body and consciousness. It is neither pure consciousness [Self] nor an inert body, but something in between the two - an illusory entity, a chimera combining the light of consciousness and the body. These two completely different components become mixed together in a bizarre being called ego, saying "I am this body". The ego binds consciousness to the body by making us feel to be the body (physical or non-physical). The light of consciousness makes this entity appear conscious, although it is inseparable connected to the inert body. This is the individual being [jiva] identifying itself with the body, expressing itself in a sense of "I" called personality [ahamkara], which - as a result of taking the unreal for the real [asat for sat] - is subject to suffering.
Throughout our whole lives, we refer to this ego as our true "I" (self). It is the cause of all trivial and unworthy things in our lives. This peculiar entity, which deprives us of our inherent happiness, is called by the sages of the East chit-jada-granthi, ie. "body-consciousness knot".

Breaking/removing this knot, equivalent to realizing the Self [existence-consciousness-happiness], is the only way to regain our due happiness and get rid of all problems.

This false, deep-rooted conviction of being body [mind], is the basic, primary error, the only true cause of all our sufferings and miseries; on the ground of this error grows all the ignorance that binds humanity, along with all the sufferings, miseries and misfortunes. The arising of this error causes us to "live the life of the ego" (or "from the level of the ego"), thus rejecting our true nature and condemning ourselves to experience misfortunes. On this foundation is built the so-called Maya - great illusion veiling Reality.

As long as the concept of "I am this body/mind" is considered to be true, there is no way to experience true, lasting happiness - the sages all agree.

Disciple of Sri Ramana, Swami Annamalai, once said [Living By The Words Of Bhagavan]: "You are wearing a shirt. Does this mean that you must take this shirt to be yourself? You wear a shirt to keep warm but you don`t say 'I am a shirt'. You can use the body as an instrument to realise the Self without thinking, 'I am the body'. Just regard the body as a helpful tool".

Causes, not effects.



"When one seeks to know anything other than himself, without caring to know the truth of himself, the knowledge he obtains cannot possibly be right knowledge".
~ Ramana Maharshi, Maha Yoga


Ramana Maharshi teaches that only then do we cease to identify with the body - thus becoming free from all resulting suffering - when, by removing the false veil [ego], we attain direct knowledge of our true "I", our Self. We must replace the current direct yet erroneous knowledge of the body as the Self with a direct knowledge of the Self as it really is. And the nature of the Self is happiness [ananda] - that which we so earnestly and unsuccessfully seek in the manifested world.

The only way leading to this is abandonment [annihilation(2) ] of the ego and thus dropping the veils from our true Self. The sages say that he who will not abandon/destroy his ego must give up completely the hope for happiness of this or other worlds. The search for happiness and simultaneous identification with the body/mind, without annihilation of the ego, is similar to the inevitably futile attempt to swim across the river on the back of a crocodile.

Sri Ramana confirms this, also saying that it is possible to unveil/reveal our Self, our true nature, the most precious of all treasures, but there is a price that must be paid for it - the price of abandoning/destroying/annihilating the ego. Although this price seems exorbitant, it is actually extremely low - for the true, indescribable, endless happiness of existence [sat-cit-ananda] we are to give up only a mere reflection, similar to the reflection of a light in a mirror. However, this price must be paid - there is no other way to liberation from the bonds of conditional existence. There can be no Liberation [Mukti, Moksha] while identifying with the false "I".

How would this be accomplished? Who should face and with whom? How to even separate oneself from the ego? The task seems impossible. The ego is the most skillful, the most perfect deceiver, an arch-genius and arch-cunning adversary, with countless strategies to ensure its survival and tricks to prevent us from removing it.

Ramana Maharshi teaches, however, that there is a way out to end the misidentification, ignorance and delusion growing out of the ego sense, and points to a path leading to this, which goes beyond the plane on which the ego operates, calling it [Upadesa Undiyar]:

--------------------------"The direct path for all".


"The seer and the object seen are like the rope and the snake. Just as the knowledge of the rope which is the substrate will not arise unless the false knowledge of the illusory serpent goes, so the realization of the Self which is the substrate will not be gained unless the belief that the world is real is removed".
~ Ramana Maharshi, Nan Yar?




Bhagavan Ramana explains that the Self (our true "I") is a reality hidden under a veil built on the sense of "I am this body". The rope is obscured in the darkness by the imaged snake image, and similarly the Self is obscured by the delusion of being the ego. The sage points out that the ego doesn't exist in deep sleep, we do, however, exist in it - so how would we be the ego when we can exist without it, as the deep sleep example makes clear?
Upon awakening from the dream the ego rises, identifying itself with the body, and at the same moment the illusion of Maya is brought to life. Maya can be called a secret, hidden power, causing reality to appear to us as something that it actually is not. It causes us to treat what is real and substantial - our true Self - as non-existent, and what is delusional and false - a sense of ego - as real and substantial, as ourselves.

This carries with it fatal consequences.

Since the sense of 'I' [self] is innate to man, he has no way to question the existence of his self; the self is the only undeniable 'thing' that exists.
Therefore, when our true Self is veiled/obscured, we involuntarily fill the resulting void with a false self called “ego”, recognizing it as true one. Thus, we cut ourselves off from our true nature: existence-consciousness-happiness [sat-cit-ananda]. As a result, we "lose" what is most precious to us - the source of unbroken, eternal happiness, our true Self.

What greater loss could there be than this?

However, mere theoretical knowledge of the veiling of our true "I" [Self] by the false "I-ego" and even the most perfect understanding of this teaching cannot remove the veils and dispel the delusion. This can only be done by true, authentic and direct knowledge [realization] of the Self, which is inseparable from the complete, irreversible destruction of the ego and the breaking of the body-consciousness knot. And this can only be accomplished after a long sadhana.

If the delusion is not dispelled we will never be able to see the deception. The only way to dispel this delusion is to realize the Self, and the only path leading to realization of the Self is the path of Self-enquiry "Who am I?" [Atma-vichara] taught by Ramana Maharshi, which is the very core of his teachings.

The power of ego.



"The chit-jada ego, which is neither sat [real] nor asat [unreal], remains in your Heart like an enemy masquerading as a friend".
~ Ramana Maharshi, Padamalai




The mind, says the sage of Arunachala, is a stream of thoughts. The first of these, the thought, "I am this body", is false, but because it is taken to be true, it allows further waves of thought to appear, compounding erroneous knowledge. The thinking mind-ego is the seat of ignorance; it also seems to be the true nature of man. However, it is not our true nature - our true nature is our true Self; the same Self to the realization of which Sri Ramana Maharshi points the way.

However, not many are up for it.

Although the ego is the source of all the evil plaguing the world, for most of us it is as valuable as life itself. We are convinced that the ego is us and we don't want to lose it for any price - we are much more willing to endure all the pains of life than to abandon the ego in the name of happiness. This is basic, one of the countless ingenious tricks of the ego by which it maintains the illusion of its reality and its existence.

We are afraid of losing the ego, thinking that it is our true "I" and we equate its absence with nothingness. The state of absence of ego - Ramana Maharshi says - is not nothingness, but fullness; it is "I" in its true nature, as it really is, unlimited by the ego; it is sat-cit-ananda, perfect existence-consciousness-happiness.

At the base of the three states that we know (waking, dream and deep sleep) there is the true “I” [Self], inherently immortal, which survives the complete destruction of that which is unreal - the ego. Happiness [ananda] is the very essence of the Self, and consequently, the state of absence of ego is the only truly desirable thing, remaining beyond any comparison with any object of the manifested world.

The true "I", unveiled when the ego is annihilated, is neither nonexistence nor unconsciousness. It is existence and consciousness. When the ego disappears - we exist in all the fullness of our true nature.

Ananda.



"Just as in spring-time there comes to trees an increase of beauty and other qualities, so to the Seer of the real Self, who is contented in the enjoyment of the Bliss of the Self, there comes surely an increase of Light, Power and Knowledge [Wisdom]".
~ Vasistha, Joga Vasisthy



The ancient lore tells us [Taittiriya Upanishad, 2.7.1]:

"He that finds [realize] that Self - 'who is concealed in the Heart' - shall enjoy that profound happiness, which is the simultaneous fulfilment of all desires".



When the ego disappears, will I also disappear?



Ramana Maharshi: Would you like me to describe the real Self? What can you say about it? It is - THAT from which the sense of individual “I” arises and in which it will submerge and disappear over time.
Questioner: Disappear? How can one ever lose one's sense of individuality?
Ramana Maharshi: The first, primary thought of every human being is this thought-concept - "I".
It is only after the first one exists that all other thoughts can be born in us. If you could follow the thought backwards to this concept of "I", all the way to its source, you would find out that as it first appears, so the last disappears. You can try this out and verify it with your own experience.
Questioner: By this, does Maharshi mean that anyone can perform such an investigation?
Ramana Maharshi: Of course! You can go deeper and deeper into yourself until the last sense of "I" gradually disappears.
Questioner: And what then remains? Will a person then lose all consciousness or become an idiot?
Ramana Maharshi: Nothing of the sort. On the contrary: he will reach into a vast and immortal consciousness, into essential wisdom, as he will awaken in his true, real nature, he will reveal his highest "I".
Questioner: But the sense of individual "I" must probably remain even then?
Ramana Maharshi: This sense of "I" belongs to the personality, to the body and mind. When a person first reveals his true "I" [Self], something else arises from the depths of his being and completely takes possession of him. This "something" is beyond thought, is infinite, eternal and divine. Some call it the Kingdom of Heaven, others call it Spirit, others call it Nirvana, and Hindus call it Liberation (Mukti, Moksha); you can call "THAT" whatever you want. When it becomes so, man in fact loses nothing, but finds Himself.
~ Ramana Maharshi, Nauka Szri Ramana Mahariszi
(translated from Polish since we were unable to find the source text)

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Different interpretations of Ramana Maharshi's teachings.



Ramana Maharshi's teachings are said to be profound, multidimensional, multithreaded and syncretic. In books, articles, websites or social networks one can find different versions or interpretations of Sri Ramana's teachings. Which of them are correct? Is it even possible to speak of one correct interpretation of these teachings, or is each of them equally valid? Is a broad pluralism of interpretation advisable and useful, or should some other direction be taken? What guidance has Sri Ramana left us in this regard?

In considering this issue, we should first take into account that Ramana Maharshi's teachings, though beautiful, were not given for the contemplation of their beauty, but have a specific, concrete, useful function. In exploring them, we should first consider their practical dimension, that is, what task they face and what purpose they are intended to serve.

If we buy a beautiful, modern and functional car, but forget what it is used for, put it in front of the house and sit in it, eat meals and have conversations while enjoying its beauty, but don't drive it at all, we will waste the potential it has and arouse quite an astonishment in our neighbors. The same is true of Sri Ramana Maharshi's teachings - if we forget the purpose behind them, which is undoubtedly to guide people along the simple, direct path to Liberation/Jnana/Self-realization, and instead use them for some of our other personal purposes, we will waste the potential inherent in them and arouse astonishment among part of spiritual seekers.

Ramana Maharshi's teachings describe and expound an extremely precise tool for accomplishing the most difficult task - cutting the body-consciousness knot and annihilating the ego. The ego, on the other hand, is the world's toughest “adversary”, an arch-genius deceiver controlling all of our thinking, with countless sophisticated defense strategies designed to protect it precisely from detection and destruction. When confronting him, we must not use faulty, unsettled “weapons”, because in that case we will inevitably fail.

In order for Sri Ramana's teachings to successfully guide the adept to the realization of this most difficult yet most magnificent task, they must be flawlessly interpreted and implemented. Because they concern the path that transcends the dominion of the ego and leads to its annihilation, they cannot be correctly interpreted by the ego and its tools such as intellect, because the ego protecting itself will undoubtedly distort them so that they are no longer effective.

To avoid this, the knowledge needed to correctly interpret Ramana Maharshi's teachings should be drawn from the beyond ego realm state of Silence [mouna], which is attained no earlier than at the proper stage of Atma-vichara by advanced practisers. Since the state of Silence is one and undifferentiated, the knowledge, and consequently the interpretations of the main axis of Bhagavan's teachings flowing from it, cannot differ. There may be semantic differences, varying distributions of emphasis, differences in the introduction of auxiliary threads, more or less detailed descriptions, etc., but the central thread - and everything intertwined with it - must remain consistent and homogeneous.
While at the preliminary stage of this practice there may still be some slight variations in the application of the Atma-vichara technique (e.g., different variants of the auxiliary question “Who am I?” may be used, or one may pass this stage without using any question at all) - provided that the whole process retains the ability to redirect the mind toward its source and immerse the I-thought (the root of the mind) in the Self - but at the proper stage, in the state of Silence [mouna], there is no more room for variations.

In The Path of Sri Ramana, Sadhu Om says that the Satguru such as Ramana Maharshi comes into the world to lead mature disciples(3) to the spiritual summit. Only such disciples are able to fully comprehend and use the tool offered to them by the Satguru to achieve the intended goal, and only correct, unadulterated teaching can lead to this.

For the others - Sadhu OM goes on to say - it is already a great privilege to come into contact with the Satguru and his teachings, however these people will not be able to either fully comprehend them or fully benefit from them. Therefore, when dealing with such people, the Satguru is forced to give lower-level instructions tailored to their requests, inclinations and abilities, as we saw in the case of Ramana Maharshi. However, these teachings should never be considered to be the essential teachings of Sri Ramana, which these adepts nevertheless tend to consider as such. They will also interpret Ramana Maharshi's teachings through the intellect, which will inevitably lead to many different interpretations, fraught with greater or lesser inaccuracies, misrepresentations or errors.

If we look at Ramana Maharshi's attitude toward the written explications of his teachings written down while he was still alive in the body, we get a clear and very helpful interpretive clue. On the one hand, Sri Ramana left absolute freedom to less mature people and did not interfere at all with what they wrote about him and his teachings, even if they were complete nonsense; on the other hand, he took great care that his mature disciples - such as Muruganar, Lakshmana Sarma and Sivaprakash Pillai - wrote down his teachings and explications of them without the slightest error, checking, correcting and approving them himself. All this out of a concern that for those who take up atma-sadhana seriously, an impeccable transmission of his teachings, capable of fulfilling its purpose, should be preserved.

If, therefore, Ramana Maharshi's teachings are meant to be used to achieve Liberation, or at least to step onto the path leading to it and get a taste of the Self, then there is only one correct interpretation of their main thread, the core, i.e., how to perform the practice of Atma-vichara starting from the preliminary phase, with all the essential elements woven into it. If, on the other hand, Ramana Maharshi's teachings are to be used for - as Swami Annamalai once said - spiritual entertainment, in which the illusory "I" plays all sorts of games with itself, then an infinite number of these interpretations are permissible, from chanting “who am I?” to simply doing nothing, in the belief that this is “just being” as taught by Sri Ramana.

We caution, however, serious spiritual seekers who have a strong longing for Liberation and a real disposition to make sincere efforts to embark on and follow the direct path leading to it, that following distorted teachings or misinterpretations can close that path and lead into a dead end from which it can be difficult to get out.

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(1) A proper understanding of the term “ego” used in Sri Ramana's teachings is crucial to a correct reading of the essence of these teachings. In the context of Ramana's teachings, “ego” should by no means be considered using definitions drawn from psychology, sociology, popular esotericism or other similar branches of knowledge. “Ego”, in Ramana's terms, is not some disliked part of our psyche that we are supposed to improve in some way. Sri Ramana defines ego as follows [Ulladu Narpadu]:

"The insentient body does not say (or feel) ‘I’. Existence consciousness (sat-chit, the real Self) does not rise (or subside). (But) in between (these two) an ‘I’ rises as the measure of the body that is in between the body and the real Self a limited ‘I’ – consciousness in the form ‘I am this body rises in waking and subsides again in sleep). Know that this (‘I am the body’ – consciousness) is (what is called by various names such as) the knot between consciousness and the insentient (chit-jada-granthi), bondage (bandha), the individual soul (jiva), subtle body (sukshma sarira), ego (ahantai), this mundane state of activity (samsara) and mind (manas)".

He further states:

"[...] This ghostly ego, which is devoid of form (that is, which has no form of its own), comes into existence by grasping a form (that is, by identifying the form of a body as "I"); it endures by grasping a form (that is, by continuing to cling to that body as "I"); it waxes more by grasping and feeding upon forms (that is, by attending to second and third person objects, which it cognizes through the five senses); having left a form, it grasps a form (that is, having given up one body, it grasps another body as "I") [...]".

Sri Ramana thus defines ego as I-consciousness taking the form of “I am this body/mind", which appears unnoticed and takes possession of the body/mind form by feeding on mental/sensory objects, thus growing and strengthening itself. This is the consciousness that one operates on a daily basis by identifying with the person, body and mind, both in the waking and dreaming state. The ego feeds on thinking; by grasping at the next emerging thoughts it strengthens and grows.

The Sanskrit word “ahamkara", used most often to describe the ego, was formed by combining the noun “aham” [self, I] with the participle “kara", meaning “doing” or “performing". The word “ahamkara” can thus be translated as ”considering oneself to be a doer of actions”, "the feeling of being acted upon", "the feeling of being a doer of actions"; the suffix "kara" thus transforms the true "I" [aham] into the ego [ahamkara].
From a practical point of view, such a conception can be extended to further feelings: the sense of being an experiencer, responsible for actions, etc., which are all characteristic of the ego, and their presence indicates the state of “living from the level of the ego”.

A useful definition of ego is also given by Sri Shankara in Vivekachudamani where he says:

"The ego is which has been created by the intellect [buddhi] thoroughly deluded by nescience, and which is perceived in this body as 'I am such and such' [I am so and so] [...]".

(2) Whenever "annihilation", "destruction", "nullification", "death", etc. is referred to in our sites in reference to the ego or the personal "I", it in no way has anything to do with annihilation or death of the body or intentionally causing it any harm; intentionally causing harm to the body, especially depriving it of life, is, as Sri Ramana said, a crime and is absolutely not allowed/ impermissible on his path.

In Padamalai Sri Ramana explains that the ties that torment us is the body-consciousness knot, not the body form per se. Those who think that by getting rid of the body they will get rid of their torments are greatly mistaken. Sadhu Om compares this to a situation where a court, instead of inflicting punishment on the criminal sitting before it, inflicts punishment on the chair on which that criminal sits.

However, those who want to cherish their bodies will not find themselves on this path either.
As Swami Annamalai explains, the body should be treated as a useful vehicle to get us to a certain place, and in this dimension to be taken care of, but no more (this issue is discussed in more detail in Swami Annamalai's texts on our sites, those interested are recommended to read them).
Those who hope that practicing Atma-vichara or realizing the Self will cure their body's diseases, immortalize it, rejuvenate it or cause something similar will be sorely disappointed. Sri Ramana's path is in no way a rejuvenating treatment.

(3) Just because a particular disciple today does not meet the maturity criteria necessary to embark on the path of Sri Ramana does not mean that tomorrow or some time from now he cannot meet them. However, the issue of acquiring spiritual maturity is a complex one, and we do not undertake to discuss it here. Sincere, diligent and unwavering attempts to perform Atma-vichara practice purify the mind and, together with the work of grace, can undoubtedly help greatly in acquiring the proper disposition.
As we write elsewhere in our website, the very urge to perform the practice of Self-enquiry is a sufficient qualification to begin this practice; such practice itself - performed zealously, patiently, systematically, with commitment, without self-deception and reasonably correctly (with correction of possible errors, without falling into some completely wrong tracks and getting lost) - will forge in the adept an increasing ability to perform this practice, to stay in it and to ascend to its higher and higher levels.

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Some people explaining Sri Ramana's teachings(4) don't pay particularly great attention to the correctness of performing Atma-vichara practice, claiming that if one performs it by trying to direct attention to the “I” as he understands it, then he is practicing it correctly, even if he doesn't see the results. That is enough, they say, Bhagavan with his grace will correct any possible imperfections if one only has faith in him.

This is a certain concept, however, for some reason Ramana Maharshi gave a pretty precise description of the technique of performing Atma-vichara in his works, but somehow did not say: "Do as you think, I will correct the mistakes". Moreover, in Nan Yar? he says that those who came within the gracious gaze of the Guru will be saved and will never be abandoned, but everyone should follow the path shown by him without fail. He thus formulates quite clearly the condition for such salvation: error-free walking on the path shown by the Guru.

We, taking this into account, taking also into account the power and cunning of the ego, which by distorting the teachings sabotages the taking of correct steps, having also in mind the position of many adepts unable to catch on to such tricks and stuck in place for years as a result(4A) or giving up the practice, place great emphasis on the correctness of following the path of Sri Ramana in general and the correctness of performing Atma-vichara in particular.

To the proponents of the aforementioned concept of “do it more or less correctly, Bhagavan will take care of the rest", we point out that it is quite unlikely that Bhagavan will reveal himself to them in luminous form, do the work for them and bestow Moksha. It's much more likely that he will put the right people, books or websites on their path, which will tell them what's wrong and how it should be, or point it out to them from within. Their role will then be to make corrections to their practice and do it correctly, because unfortunately no one will do it for them.

Already Sri Shankara has said: if someone wants to recover from an illness, he himself must follow the prescribed diet and take the appropriate medication - the sick person will not recover if someone else takes the medication for him.

Although Bhagavan undoubtedly helps and supports his bhaktas at all times, he too will not do for us what we have to do; if it were otherwise, what would prevent him from doing it for all the disciples living with him in the ashram and providing Moksha for them? This, however, did not happen. In one conversation he said this about it [Letters from Sri Ramanasramam]:

"I should give them moksha, they say. It is enough if moksha alone is given to them. Is not that itself a desire? If you give up all the desires that you have, what remains is only moksha. And you require sadhana to get rid of all those desires" (sadhana literally: "that by which something is performed", "means to an end" - daily spiritual practice leading to the surrender of the ego and the realization of our perfect nature).

Such sadhana has to be undertaken by oneself and performed correctly to the extent that it is intended for a man - grace takes care of the rest.

We are strong proponents of the following concept:
Atma-vichara performed correctly works, incorrectly does not work.

When it is performed incorrectly, corrections simply need to be made.

With that said, even knowing the correct technique does not equate to being able to apply it, as the deficiency of qualities such as sattva, mumukshu, vaigarya or viveka can make it impossible to put what one knows into practice. If in such a situation the adept does not give up and steadfastly sticks to his sadhana, his mind will be slowly(4B) purified and sooner or later these qualities will appear, and with them the appropriate fruits(4C).
If, on the other hand, he uses an incorrect technique in a similar situation, his efforts are unlikely to be of much use (with every sincere effort having its own value and yielding something; it can often be, for example, information coming from somewhere on how to correct mistakes or someone to help with this).

It should also not be forgotten that Atma-vichara was already recorded in the Vedas, but in such an imperfect way that - as Sadhu Om mentions in the Path of Sri Ramana - even sincere and zealous, mumukshu-owning and attempting adepts were unable to attain Liberation with its application. And none of the old sages, the givers of the Vedas, were able to change this state of affairs; only the appearance of Ramana Maharshi and his groundbreaking teaching changed this and reopened this path.

Taking care of the correctness of the transmission, therefore, is not only to enable spiritual aspirants to follow this path successfully, but also to protect it from being closed again.

However, the reality is that many adepts will still gravitate to and propagate the less demanding yet flawed interpretations. As mentioned earlier, Ramana Maharshi did not object to this during his life in the body, saying that everyone has the right to understand his teachings in their own way, but he did not fail to ensure that a precise, accurate, unadulterated description of his path is preserved for disciples seriously pursuing Liberation, as such is needed to “perform” this most difficult of difficult and at the same time most wonderful of wonderful tasks.

On our websites, we strive to follow this approach faithfully.

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(4) The references in our sites to certain non-obvious interpretations of Ramana Maharshi's teachings formulated by other commentators refer only to those interpretations, not to the commentators as such. We respect all honest, pure-intentioned commentators on Sri Ramana's teachings, and we appreciate their contributions to the dissemination of knowledge about Bhagavan and his path, but we are not obligated to agree with them on everything; if we encounter a controversial thesis, we sometimes address it in one way or another.
Mostly, however, these theses come to us second, third or nth hand, from the adepts disseminating them - in such a situation, it is even difficult to determine who the author is. In any case, if we refer to an element critically or polemically, it is always to the thesis/concept/interpretation in question, not to the person from whom it came or who is distributing it.

A separate category, however, is made up of those who use Sri Ramana Maharshi and his teachings solely for their ow profit, who, knowing that they are not competent to expound these teachings, do so with the intention of gaining economic (or other e.g. fame, recognition, acclaim, energy, free labor, etc.) benefits through doing so, pose as great masters and then, under the name of Ramana, talk complete rubbish, unscrupulously pushing childish trivialities that have little to do with Sri Ramana's teachings to their audiences, so long as at the end of the day the money matches.
Such behavior is unequivocally reprehensible in our view.

(4A) Unfortunately, self-assessment of progress on the spiritual path is not an easy matter - it is even said to be impossible for most disciples.
In one of recorded Ramana Maharshi's talks Bhagavan said that the measure of progress is the degree of absence of thought. However, this too should be well understood, because during deep sleep or laya states there is no thought and no progress either. So it could be clarified that the measure of progress is the degree of absence of thought and the degree of focusing on "I am" and at a later stage experiencing a foretaste of the Self in the form of aham-sphurana.
At the preliminary stage, however, assessment can be very difficult, and we do not have good advice in this regard.
In one of his articles, Michael James gives a hint by writing [the article: Why is atma-vicara necessary?]: "[...] we will certainly be making progress, but we should not expect to see any obvious signs of progress. Sri Ramana used to say that perseverance is the only true sign of progress. After years of practice we may still feel that we can see no sign of any increased capacity to cling firmly to self-attentiveness, but so long as we keep on trying, we can be sure that we are progressing [...]".

(4B) This process can be accelerated or improved by coming into physical contact with a Jnani [realized sage] who will transmit the presence of the Self, or an advanced practiser who is reaching this experience [Self experience] and is endowed with the ability to transmit it.
It may also happen that such contact does not bring the experience of a foretaste of the Self itself, but - which is also very valuable - pulls the person up. Or it may bring nothing at all - all three of these cases have been reported in recollections of meetings with Sri Ramana. But no matter what, the adept will still have to do the prescribed, necessary work.

Note: such a meeting with a realized being is traditionally called "Satsang/Satsanga"; however, it has little in common with the meetings commonly offered today (usually for money) called "satsangs" - in the former case there is contact with Sat [Reality, Self] transmitted in Silence by the realized being, in the latter there is [at best] contact with verbal transmission of teachings and insights made by often beginner adepts.
Thus, despite the same name, they are completely different processes in essence and effect; the former we sincerely recommend, the latter we sincerely do not - such new-fashioned "satsangs" will certainly not help in Atma-vichara practice.
We write more about the modification of the definition of the term "satsang" and what a true Satsang/Satsang is in the tab Advaita.

(4C) In one of his records of Bhagavan's oral teachings, Muruganar writes that the Self manifests when the heart is purified through either love [bhakti] or Self-enquiry; thus, he points to two parallel methods of attaining the purity necessary to experience the Self.
However, since the attainment of perfect love requires full surrender of the ego, and this cannot be achieved with bhakti alone and must be supported/accomplished with Atma-vichara, from a certain point Atma-vichara and bhakti merge into one like two strands of the same rope.
Since we on our sites focus on a man's spiritual path beginning from this point, following Ramana Maharshi in reiterating that the two inseparable paths should not be separated, so if the reader encounters information on our sites about purifying the heart/mind by Atma-vichara, it will always mean these two processes together (it is hard to practice Atma-vichara effectively if bhakti is neglected).
This does not contradict the fact that at an earlier stage - when Atma-vichara has not yet begun - the bhakti itself purifies the mind so that the adept becomes ready to begin it.

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Western fashion.



Beginning in the 20th century, a broad river of Eastern spiritual thought began to flow to the West, with a large contribution from the hippie movement of the second half of the 20th century seeking new experiences with stimulants in India, along the way soaking up India's spiritual culture and bringing it back with them. This most likely had an impact on the migration process, in which the spiritual teachings of the East somehow magically transformed from being difficult, arduous and demanding to being light, easy and enjoyable - perfectly on a hippie style.
In practice, this import proved to be selective and far from being scrupulous; some key elements and mechanisms were omitted or reworked, resulting in a Western version of Eastern spirituality that, at first glance, looks deceptively similar to the original, but is unable to perform its original functions, instead serving often other purposes(5). Understandably, transferring spiritual practices from a completely different culture to a foreign land may require some adjustments, but as a rule, these should be limited to the circumstances surrounding the application of these practices in new conditions, not to their core. What has happened (and is happening) in this case, however, is different.

Such reworks and distortions, unfortunately, have not omitted Ramana Maharshi's teachings either. Such modified teachings of Bhagavan are used today by some people [teachers, lecturers, commentators, bloggers, writers, adepts] or even whole modern spiritual currents reaching back to his teachings.

We outline below some aspects of Sri Ramana Maharshi's teachings that are particularly susceptible to this type of treatment, cautioning that the teachings, so reworked, lose their ability to fulfill their mission.

1. Western fashion: talking about the highest spiritual truths, which are realized on the march after "realizing" them [in the mind] or "understanding" them; the condition for realization: becoming familiar with these truths by reading about them [or hearing about them, watching a movie].
Ramana Maharshi: talking about the highest spiritual truths, which are realized after a long and arduous sadhana; the condition for realization: the full transcendence of the personal "I" [ego]/ego annihilation.

2. Western fashion: instantaneous attainment of the highest possible spiritual state, usually called "enlightenment".
Ramana Maharshi: a long-term and gradual attainment of the highest spiritual state usually called "Liberation"/"Jnana".

3. Western fashion: not taking into account the disciple's conditioning of believing in the world and being body/mind, urging them to simply negate this and accept instead the belief that they are, e.g. Consciousness; downplaying or ignoring the power of attachment to the body and the world, and failing to indicate an effective method for overcoming it.
Ramana Maharshi: taking into account the disciple's conditioning of believing in the world and being body/mind; respecting the strength of attachment to the body and the world; pointing out an effective, arduous and long-lasting method of breaking it.

4. Western fashion: effortless attainment of the highest possible spiritual state.
Ramana Maharshi: tremendous effort needed to attain the highest possible spiritual state.

5. Western fashion: Glorifying mixed/reflected consciousness [citta/chitta], confusing it with Pure Consciousness [cit/chit], not distinguishing one from the other.
Ramana Maharshi: Glorifying Pure Consciousness [cit/chit], distinguishing it from mixed/reflected consciousness [citta/chitta], not confusing one with the other.

6. Western fashion: using the term "satsang" to describe ordinary conversations about spirituality that do not meet the requirement to commune with the SAT; pushing the idea that they give something special.
Ramana Maharshi: real transmission of the SAT [Reality, Self] experience by Ramana Maharshi or some advanced disciples; fulfillment of the requirement to commune with the SAT; the unique and real benefit derived from these meetings by those experiencing them.

7. Western fashion: conveying spiritual teachings for money; so-called "satsangs" for money according to a price list or for "every grace, no less than"; commercial spirituality; seller-customer relationship.
Ramana Maharshi: conveying spiritual teachings and giving darshans for free; non-commercial spirituality; teacher-disciple relationship.
Acceptable acceptance of donations intended to keep the teacher's body alive, ashrams, etc. (one exception - printed books on spiritual teaching, which, due to publishing costs and distribution processes, are virtually impossible to distribute for free).

8. Western fashion: downplaying or ignoring the aspect of faith and devotion [surrender], bhakti.
Ramana Maharshi: faith and devotion [surrender] to God or the Guru important, necessary, and integral part of the path; bhakti inextricably intertwined with vichara.

9. Western fashion: marginalizing or omitting the topic of ego annihilation in teaching, lack of knowledge of the method used for this purpose or superficial interpretation of it which makes it ineffective.
Ramana Maharshi: focusing around the topic of ego annihilation, a precise description of the effective method for doing so [Atma-vichara].

10. Western fashion: Atma-vichara as a quick method of intuitive insight into our true nature; relying on intuition while the ego is present.
Ramana Maharshi: Atma-vichara as a long-term method of fishing out, capturing and maintaining the pure "I am"; relying on sphurana "I am I" shining forth after the disappearance of the ego, holding on to it as the supreme tapas.

Those who wish to follow Sri Ramana's path to Liberation should beware like a fire of such (or similar) Western reworkings of Bhagavan's teachings - they block/obstruct walking on this path.
Those who just sympathize with Ramana Maharshi without taking up the practice should also better stick to Bhagavan's faithful teachings.
Those however, who are satisfied with the illusion of attaining spiritual heights offered by such interpretations, would do well to realize at least that in creating and sustaining this illusion based on what is referred to above as "Western fashion" - or the like - teachings, they are certainly not basing themselves on the teachings of Ramana Maharshi, but at most on its`s distorted reflection straight out of a cabinet of crooked mirrors.

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(5) Of course, not 100% of the teachings were and are so modified. In addition to the wide mainstream river carrying various impurities, there is also a parallel crystal stream flowing all the time carrying the pure spiritual teachings of the East, be it Ramana Maharshi or other teachers and schools.