Quick note. Recently I launched a refurbished version of my first app on Ramana Maharishi, you can download it here: Also I have published English translations of Aksharamana Malai (from T.R.Kanakammal's Nool Thirattu), and all the slogans from Ramana Stuthi Panchakam. Each has word by word meaning, a short note followed by a detailed explanation. Ramana Saranam! Clock the book you want to download, I've set the price at 99 cents minimum, you can of course pay more should you feel like it.
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"The feeling "I work" is the hindrance. Ask yourself, "Who works?" Remember who you are. Then the work will not bind you; it will go on automatically. Make no effort to either work or renounce; your effort is the bondage. What is destined to happen will happen. If you are destined not to work, work cannot be had even if you hunt for it; if you are destined to work, you will not be able to avoid it; you will be forced to engage yourself in it. So leave it to the Higher Power. You cannot renounce or retain as you choose." The mind produces thoughts ceaselessly, even when you do not look at them. When you know what’s going in your mind, you call it consciousness. Your consciousness shifts from sensation to sensation, perception to perception, idea to idea, in endless succession. The mind is like a river flowing ceaselessly in the bed of the body; you identify yourself for a moment with some particular ripple and call it ‘my thought’.
Q: As I can make out, you give distinct meaning to the words 'mind', 'consciousness' and 'awareness'.
Maharaj: Look at it this way. The mind produces thoughts ceaselessly, even when you don't look at them. When you know what's going on in your mind, you call it consciousness. This is your waking state - your consciousness shifts from sensation to sensation, from perception to perception, from idea to idea, in endless succession. Then comes awareness, the direct insight into the whole of consciousness, the totality of the mind. The mind is like a river, flowing ceaselessly in the bed of the body; you identify yourself for a moment with some ripple and call it: 'my thought'. All you are conscious of is your mind; awareness is the cognisance of consciousness as a whole. David Godman, a devotee of Ramana Maharishi and a resident of Tiruvannamalai, talks about Mastan Swami, an obscure realised being who Ramana Maharishi said was the most ready to the state of realisation. People come to a guru at various stages, from the immature to the average to the good to the ready. He used to say that wet coal needs more time whereas charcoal catches fire more immediately. "Truth is not a reward for good behaviour, nor a prize for passing some tests. It cannot be brought about. It is the primary, the unborn, the ancient source of all that is. You are eligible because your are. You need not merit truth. It is your own. Just stop running away by running after. Stand still, be quiet." The ancient teaching that you are not the body must have seeped into the subcontinent's culture and everyday life so much that it surfaces even in regular expressions. In Tamil and Kannada for instance, when someone is not well, they say, 'Body is not right' (That is 'odambu sari ille' in Tamil or 'Mai seri illa' in Kannada). In Hindi too the question/greeting 'Kya hal hai? is a query on health, not how are you, which identifies you with your body. When greeting people it is customary to ask 'sowkyama?' which means 'are you healthy?'
Only in English, which is possibly a reflection of the Western values, do you equate body and Self as in, 'How are you?'. Which probably makes it harder for the Western mind to come to grips with you being separate from your body whereas it feels more easily digestible to the Indian constitution.
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AuthorWorking with the available light as Ramana Maharishi said. Archives
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