Ramana Maharshi

Bhagavan Sri
Ramana Maharshi

Sri Ramana Maharshi in his late 60s.
Born Venkataraman Iyer
(1879-12-30)30 December 1879
Tiruchuzhi, Madras Presidency, British India
Died 14 April 1950(1950-04-14) (aged 70)
Sri Ramana Ashram, Tiruvannamalai, India
Nationality Indian
Guru Arunachala
Philosophy Advaita Vedanta
Literary works Nān Yār? ("Who am I?")
Five Hymns to Arunachala
Quotation Of all the thoughts that rise in the mind, the thought 'I' is the first thought.

Ramana Maharshi /ˈrʌmənə məhʌˈrɪʃi/ (30 December 1879 – 14 April 1950) was an Indian sage[1] and jivanmukta.[2] He was born Venkataraman Iyer, but was and is most commonly known under the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi.[3][note 1]

He was born in what is now Tiruchuli, Tamil Nadu, India. In 1895 an attraction to the holy hill Arunachala and the 63 Nayanars was aroused in him,[4] and in 1896, at the age of 16, he had a "death-experience" in which he became aware of a "current" or "force" (avesam),[note 2] which he recognised as his true "I" or Self,[web 1][5][quote 1] and which he later identified with Ishvara. This resulted in a state which he later described as "the state of mind of Iswara or the jnani."[web 1][note 3] Six weeks later he left his uncle's home in Madurai, and journeyed to the holy mountain Arunachala, Tiruvannamalai, where he took on the role of a sannyasin and remained for the rest of his life.

He soon attracted devotees who regarded him as an avatar and came to him for darshan ("the sight of God"), and in later years an ashram grew up around him, where visitors received upadesa ("spiritual instruction")[7] by sitting silently in his company and raising their concerns and questions.[8] Since the 1930s his teachings have been popularised in the west, resulting in worldwide recognition as an enlightened being.[9]

Ramana Maharshi gave his approval to a variety of paths and practices,[3] but recommended self-enquiry as the principal means to remove ignorance and abide in Self-awareness,[web 2][10] together with bhakti (devotion) or surrender to the Self.[web 2]

Biography

Early years (1879–1895)

Temple of Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu

Family background (1800s)

Ramana Maharshi was born Venkataraman Iyer on 30 December 1879 in the village Tiruchuzhi near Aruppukkottai, Madurai in Tamil Nadu, South India. His birth fell on Arudra Darshanam day, the day of the Sight of Siva.[web 3] Venkataraman was the second of four children in an orthodox Hindu Brahmin family. His father was Sundaram Iyer (1848–1890), from the lineage of Parashara, and his mother was Azhagammal (1864-1922). He had two brothers Nagaswami (1877–1900) and Nagasundaram (1886–1953), along with a younger sister Alamelu (1887-1953). Venkataraman's father was a court pleader.[11]

Both a paternal uncle of his father and his father's brother had become sannyasins.[12] According to Osborne, a wandering ascetic who came begging for food at the house of one his forebears and was refused, had once stated that "henceforth one out of every generation of his descendants would wander and beg his food," a foreshadowing of the fate of Venkataraman.[12]

Venkataraman's family belonged to the Smarta denomination, and regular worship of Siva, Vishnu, Ganesa, Surya and Sakti took place in their home. His mother was devotional, reciting the Dakshinamurthy Stotram, an Advaitic hymn to Shiva written by Adi Shankara, and was initiated into the sakti-panchakshari japa,[13] the chanting of the five syllables na-maH-shi-vA-ya, "I bow to Shiva," the inner self.[14]

Childhood and father's death (1879–1895)

When Venkataraman was seven he had his upanayana, the traditional initiation of the three upper varnas into Brahmanical learning and the knowledge of Self. He had a very good memory, being able to recall information after hearing it once, an ability he used to memorise Tamil poems.[15]

Narasimha Swami notes that Venkataraman used to sleep very deeply, not waking up from loud sounds nor even when his body was beaten by others.[16][17] When he was about twelve years old, he may have experienced deep meditative states spontaneously. In Sri Ramana Vijayam, the Tamil biography that first appeared in the 1920s, narrates about a period a few years before the Self-realisation experience in Madurai:

Some incomplete practice from a past birth was clinging to me. I would be putting attention solely within, forgetting the body. Sometimes I would be sitting in one place, but when I regained normal consciousness and got up, I would notice that I was lying down in a different narrow space [to the one where I had first sat down].[note 4]

When he was about eleven his father sent him to live with his paternal uncle Subbaiyar in Dindigul as he wanted his sons to be educated in the English language so that they would be eligible to enter government service. Only Tamil was taught at the village school in Tiruchuzhi,[15] which he attended for three years.[18] In 1891, when his uncle was transferred to Madurai, Venkataraman and his elder brother Nagaswami moved with him. In Dindigul, Venkataraman attended a Hindu School where English was taught,[15] and stayed there for a year.[18]

In 1892, when Venkatraman was 12, his father Sundaram Iyer suddenly fell seriously ill. Sundaram Iyer's brother and Venkataraman and Nagaswami went to him immediately, but he died within four days, on February 18. Alagammal was left with the four children who ranged in aged from 4 to 14.[19] Paul Brunton recorded what Ramana told him about his response to his father's death,[20][21] which may have been a "forerunner" of his awakening four years later:[22]

Maharishi told once how he got realization.[note 5] On the day his father died he felt puzzled and pondered over it, whilst his mother and brothers wept. He thought for hours and after the corpse was cremated he got by analysis to the point of perceiving that it was the ‘I’ which makes the body to see, to run, to walk and to eat. “I know this ‘I’ but my father’s ‘I’ has left the body.” [20][21]

After his father's death, the family split up; Venkataraman and Nagaswami stayed with Subbaiyar in Madurai.[12]

Adolescence (1895–1896)

Venkataraman as a young man.

Arunachala and the 63 Nayanars (1895-1896)

Venkataraman first attended Scott's Middle School and then the American Mission High School where he became acquainted with Christianity.[23] According to Sab Jan, a Muslim school friend of Venkataraman, already as a student Venkataraman was very religious:

Every Saturday and Sunday he would go to Tiruparankunram and go round the Subramania Swamy Temple with fervent religious ecstasy. He used to take me several times with him and make me go around the temple saying, ‘God’s creation is alike and there is no difference in creation. God is the same, the apparent differences in Gods are created by man’. In the company of Venkataraman I never felt any difference between a mosque and the Subramania Swamy temple.[web 4]

In November 1895 Venkataraman realized that Arunachala, the sacred mountain, was a real place.[24] He had known of its existence from an early age on, and was overwhelmed by the realisation that it really existed.[24] During this time he also read Sekkizhar's Periyapuranam,[note 6] a book that describes the lives of the 63 Nayanars,[note 7] Tamil Saivite bhakti saints,[note 8] which "made a great impression" on him,[22][web 5] and revealed to him that "Divine Union" is possible.[24] According to Osborne, a new current of awareness started to awaken during his visits to the Meenakshi Temple at Madura, "a state of blissful consciousness transcending both the physical and mental plane and yet compatible with full use of the physical and mental faculties."[31][note 9]

Death experience (1896)

According to Osborne, this new current of awareness culminated in awakening.[32][note 9] According to Narasimha Swami, in July 1896,[22][note 10] at age 16, a sudden fear of death befell him. He was struck by "a flash of excitement" or "heat," like some avesam, a "current" or "force" that seemed to possess him,[web 1][note 2] and he initiated a process of self-enquiry asking himself what it is that dies. He concluded that the body dies, but that this "current" or "force" remains alive, and recognised this "current" or "force" as his Self, which he later identified with "the personal God, or Iswara."[web 1]

Various accounts of this event can be found. The best-known was published by Narasimha Swami in Self Realisation, the biography of Ramana Maharshi published in 1931.[web 1][36][note 11] Additional information can be found in the manuscripts of the conversations on which this biography was based.[web 1][note 12] Another, somewhat different account of this event is given in the Sri Ramana Leela, the Telugu biography of Ramana that was written by Krishna Bhikshu and published in 1936.[web 5][note 13] According to David Godman, yet another account is given by Ramana in Vichara Sangraham (Self-Enquiry).[web 5][quote 2] At 22 November 1945 he also told about his death-experience to a Bengali Swami. Two accounts of this narrative exist, which slightly differ. Devaraja Mudaliar mentions the arising of a "power" or "force:"[note 2]

Later in the morning, at Rishikesananda’s request, Bhagavan recounted his first experience of the Self in his upstairs room at Madura. ‘When I lay down with limbs outstretched and mentally enacted the death scene and realised that the body would be taken and cremated and yet I would live, some force, call it atmic power or anything else, rose within me and took possession of me. With that, I was reborn and I became a new man. I became indifferent to everything afterwards, having neither likes nor dislikes.’[web 5][note 14]

Another visitor also narrated this event, though she could only hear the following part, and uses the term "aham sphurana":[web 5][note 15][note 16]

In the vision of death, though all the senses were benumbed, the aham sphurana (Self-awareness) was clearly evident, and so I realised that it was that awareness that we call "I", and not the body. This Self-awareness never decays. It is unrelated to anything. It is Self-luminous. Even if this body is burnt, it will not be affected. Hence, I realised on that very day so clearly that that was "I".[web 5][note 17]

In one of his rare written comments on this process Ramana Maharshi himself wrote:

Enquiring within Who is the seer? I saw the seer disappear leaving That alone which stands forever. No thought arose to say I saw. How then could the thought arise to say I did not see.[web 7]

Later in life, he called his death experience akrama mukti, "sudden liberation", as opposed to the krama mukti, "gradual liberation" as in the Vedanta path of jnana yoga.[web 5][note 18] It resulted in a state of mind which he later described as "the state of mind of Iswara or the jnani:"[web 1]

After reading the language of the sacred books, I see it may be termed suddha manas [pure mind], akhandakara vritti [unbroken experience], prajna [true knowledge] etc.; that is, the state of mind of Iswara or the jnani."[web 1]

After this event, he lost interest in school studies, friends, and relations. He was absent-minded at school, "imagining and expecting God would suddenly drop down from Heaven before me."[web 5] Avoiding company, he preferred to sit alone, absorbed in concentration on this current or force,[40] and went daily to the Meenakshi Temple, ecstatically devoted to the images of the 63 Nayanars and of Nataraja, wanting "the same grace as was shown to those saints,"[web 5] praying that he "should have the same bhakti that they had"[web 5] and "[weeping] that God should give me the same grace He gave to those saints".[web 5][11] Venkataraman’s elder brother, Nagaswami, was aware of a great change in him and on several occasions rebuked him for his detachment from all that was going on around him. About six weeks after Venkataraman’s absorption into the current or force, on 29 August 1896, he was attempting to complete a homework assignment which had been given to him by his English teacher for indifference in his studies. Suddenly Venkataraman tossed aside the book and turned inward in meditation. His elder brother rebuked him again, asking, "What use is all this to one who is like this?", referring to his behaviour as a sadhu.[41]

Journey to Tiruvannamalai (1896)

Knowing his family would not permit him to become a sanyassin and leave home, Venkataraman slipped away, telling his brother he needed to attend a special class at school. His brother had asked him to take five rupees and pay his college fees on his way to class. Venkataraman took out an atlas, calculated the cost of his journey, took three rupees and left the remaining two with a note which read:

I have set out in quest of my Father in accordance with his command. This (meaning his person) has only embarked on a virtuous enterprise. Therefore, no one need grieve over this act. And no money need be spent in search of this. Your college fee has not been paid. Herewith rupees two.[42]

Venkataraman boarded a train on 1 September 1896 and traveled to Tiruvannamalai where he remained for the rest of his life.

Tiruvannamalai temples (1896–1899)

Arunachaleswara Temple, Tiruvannamalai

Arunachaleswara temple (1896–1897)

Upon arriving in Tiruvannamalai, Maharshi went to the temple of Arunachaleswara.[43] The first few weeks he spent in the thousand-pillared hall, then shifted to other spots in the temple and eventually to the Patala-lingam vault so that he might remain undisturbed. There, he spent days absorbed in such deep samādhi that he was unaware of the bites of vermin and pests. Seshadri Swamigal, a local saint, discovered him in the underground vault and tried to protect him.[42] After about six weeks in the Patala-lingam, he was carried out and cleaned up. For the next two months he stayed in the Subramanya Shrine, so unaware of his body and surroundings that food had to be placed in his mouth or he would have starved.

Gurumurtam temple (1897–1898)

In February 1897, six months after his arrival at Tiruvannamalai, Ramana moved to Gurumurtam, a temple about a mile from Tiruvannamalai.[44] Shortly after his arrival a sadhu named Palaniswami went to see him.[45] Palaniswami's first darshan left him filled with peace and bliss, and from that time on he served Ramana as his permanent attendant. From Gurumurtam to Virupaksha Cave (1899–1916) to Skandasramam Cave (1916–22), he took care of Ramana. Besides physical protection, Palaniswami would also beg for alms, cook and prepare meals for himself and Ramana, and care for him as needed.[46] In May 1898 Ramana and Palaniswami moved to a mango orchard next to Gurumurtam.[47]

Osborne wrote that during this time Ramana completely neglected his body.[46] He also ignored the ants which bit him incessantly.[44] Gradually, despite Ramana's desire for privacy, he attracted attention from visitors who admired his silence and austerities, bringing offerings and singing praises. Eventually a bamboo fence was built to protect him.[44]

While living at Gurumurtam temple his family discovered his whereabouts. First his uncle Nelliappa Iyer came and pleaded with him to return home, promising that the family would not disturb his ascetic life. Ramana sat motionless and eventually his uncle gave up.[48]

Pavalakkunru temple (1898–1899)

In September, 1898 Ramana moved to the Shiva-temple at Pavalakkunru, one of the eastern spurs of Arunachala. His mother and brother Nagaswami found him there in December, 1898. Day after day, his mother begged him to return but no amount of weeping and pleading had any visible effect on him. She appealed to the devotees who had gathered around, trying to get them to intervene on her behalf, until one requested that Ramana write out his response to his mother.[49]

At this point his deeply saddened mother returned to Madurai.

Arunachala (1899–1922)

Virupaksha Cave (1899–1916)

Arunachala Hill, Tiruvannamalai

Soon after this, in February 1899, Ramana left the foothills to live on Arunachala itself.[50] He stayed briefly in Satguru Cave and Guhu Namasivaya Cave before taking up residence at Virupaksha Cave for the next 17 years, using Mango Tree cave during the summers, except for a six-month period at Pachaiamman Koil during the plague epidemic.[51]

In 1902, a government official named Sivaprakasam Pillai, with writing slate in hand, visited the young Swami in the hope of obtaining answers to questions about "How to know one's true identity". The fourteen questions put to the young Swami and his answers were Ramana's first teachings on Self-enquiry, the method for which he became widely known, and were eventually published as 'Nan Yar?', or in English, 'Who am I?’.[52]

Many visitors came to him and some became his devotees. Kavyakantha Sri Ganapati Sastri,[note 19] a Vedic scholar of repute in his age with a deep knowledge of the Srutis, Sastras, Tantras, Yoga, and Agama systems, but lacked the personal darshan of Shiva,[53] came to visit Ramana in 1907. After receiving upadesa from him on self-enquiry, he proclaimed him as Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. Ramana was known by this name from then on.[54] Ganapati Sastri passed on these instructions to his own students, but later in life confessed that he had never been able to achieve permanent Self-abidance. Nevertheless, he was highly valued by Ramana Maharshi and played an important role in his life.[53]

In 1911 the first westerner, Frank Humphreys, then a policeman stationed in India, discovered Ramana and wrote articles about him which were first published in The International Psychic Gazette in 1913.[55][note 20]

In an appendix to Self realisation Narahamsi wrote that in 1912, while in the company of disciples, his vision was suddenly impaired three times by a "white bright curtain" which covered a part of his vision. At the third instance his vision was shut out completely, while his "head was swimming," and he felt his heart stop beating and his breathing seizing, while his skin turned blue, as if he was dead. This lasted for about ten or fifteen minutes, whereafter "a shock passed suddenly through the body," and his blood circulation and his respiration returned.[56] In response to "strange accounts" about this event, he later said that it was a fit, which he used to have occasionally, and did not bring on himself.[57] According to Osborne, it "marked the final completion of Sri Bhagavan’s return to full outer normality."[58]

Skandashram (1916–1922)

In 1916 his mother Alagammal and younger brother Nagasundaram joined Ramana at Tiruvannamalai and followed him when he moved to the larger Skandashram Cave, where Bhagavan lived until the end of 1922. His mother took up the life of a sannyasin and Ramana began to give her intense, personal instruction, while she took charge of the Ashram kitchen. Ramana's younger brother, Nagasundaram, then became a sannyasi, assuming the name Niranjanananda, becoming known as Chinnaswami (the younger Swami).

During this period, Ramana composed The Five Hymns to Arunachala, his magnum opus in devotional lyric poetry. The first hymn is Akshara Mana Malai.[translation 1] It was composed in Tamil in response to the request of a devotee for a song to be sung while wandering in the town for alms. The Marital Garland tells in glowing symbolism of the love and union between the human soul and God, expressing the attitude of the soul that still aspires.

Mother's death (1922)

Beginning in 1920, his mother's health deteriorated. On the day of her death, 19 May 1922, at about 8 a.m., Ramana sat beside her. It is reported that throughout the day, he had his right hand on her Heart-centre, on the right side of the chest, and his left hand on her head, until her death around 8:00 p.m., when Ramana pronounced her liberated, literally, 'Adangi Vittadu, Addakam' (‘absorbed'). Later Ramana said of this: "You see, birth experiences are mental. Thinking is also like that, depending on sanskaras (tendencies). Mother was made to undergo all her future births in a comparatively short time." Her body was enshrined in a samadhi, on top of which a Siva lingam was installed and given the name Matrbhuteshwara, Shiva manifesting as mother.[59][60] To commemorate the anniversary of Ramana Maharshi's mother's death, a puja, known as her Aradhana or Mahapooja, is performed every year at the Matrbhuteshwara.

The Entrance of Sri Ramanasramam.

Sri Ramanasramam (1922–1950)

Commencement of Ramanasramam (1922-1930)

From 1922 till his death in 1950 Ramana lived in Sri Ramanasramam, the ashram that developed around his mother's tomb.[61] Ramana often walked from Skandashram to his mother's tomb. In December 1922 he didn't return to Skandashram, and settled at the base of the Hill, and Sri Ramanasramam started to develop. At first, there was only one hut at the samadhi, but in 1924 two huts, one opposite the samadhi and the other to the north, were erected. The so-called Old Hall was built in 1928. Ramana lived here until 1949.[62]

Sri Ramanasramam grew to include a library, hospital, post-office and many other facilities. Ramana displayed a natural talent for planning building projects. Annamalai Swami gave detailed accounts of this in his reminiscences.[63] Until 1938, Annamalai Swami was entrusted with the task of supervising the projects and received his instructions from Ramana directly.

Sri Ramana led a modest and renunciate life. However, according to David Godman, who has written extensively about Ramana, a popular image of him as a person who spent most of his time doing nothing except silently sitting in samadhi is highly inaccurate. From the period when an Ashram began to rise around him, after his mother arrived, until his later years when his health failed, Ramana was actually quite active in Ashram activities such as cooking and stitching leaf plates.[web 9]

Discovery by westerners (1930-1940)

In 1931 a biography of Ramana Maharshi, Self Realisation: The Life and Teachings of Ramana Maharshi, written by B. V. Narasimha, was published.[64] Ramana then became relatively well known in and out of India after 1934 when Paul Brunton, having first visited Ramana in January 1931, published the book A Search in Secret India.[65] In this book he described how he was compelled by the Paramacharya of Kanchi to meet Ramana Maharshi, his meeting with Ramana Maharshi, and the effect this meeting had on him. Brunton also describes how Ramana's fame had spread, "so that pilgrims to the temple were often induced to go up the hill and see him before they returned home",[66] and the talks Ramana had with a great variety of visitors and devotees.[67] Brunton calls Ramana "one of the last of India's spiritual supermen",[68] and describes his affection toward Ramana:

I like him greatly because he is so simple and modest, when an atmosphere of authentic greatness lies so palpably around him; because he makes no claims to occult powers and hierophantic knowledge to impress the mystery loving nature of his countrymen; and because he is so totally without any traces of pretension that he strongly resists every effort to canonize him during his lifetime.[69]

While staying at Sri Ramanasramam, Brunton had an experience of a "sublimely all-embracing" awareness,[70] a "Moment of Illumination".[71] The book was a best-seller, and introduced Ramana Maharshi to a wider audience in the west.[64] Resulting visitors included Paramahansa Yogananda, Somerset Maugham (whose 1944 novel The Razor's Edge models its spiritual guru after Ramana),[web 10] Mercedes de Acosta and Arthur Osborne, the last of whom was the first editor of Mountain Path in 1964, the magazine published by Ramanashram.

Final years (1940-1950)

Sri Ramana Maharshi Mahanirvana in Ramanasramam

In November 1948, a tiny cancerous lump was found on Ramana's arm and was removed in February 1949 by the ashram's doctor. Soon, another growth appeared and another operation was done by an eminent surgeon in March 1949 with radium applied. The doctor told Ramana that a complete amputation of the arm to the shoulder was required to save his life, but he refused. A third and fourth operation were performed in August and December 1949, but only weakened him. Other systems of medicine were then tried; all proved fruitless and were stopped by the end of March when devotees gave up all hope. To devotees who begged him to cure himself for the sake of his followers, Ramana is said to have replied, "Why are you so attached to this body? Let it go" and "Where can I go? I am here."[11] By April 1950, Ramana was too weak to go to the hall and visiting hours were limited. Visitors would file past the small room where he spent his final days to get one final glimpse. He died at 14 April 1950 8:47 p.m.[web 11] At the same time a shooting star was seen, which impressed some of his devotees of its synchronicity.[72]

Devotion

Sri Ramana Maharshi reclining in the Old Hall where he lived from 1927 to 1950

Ramana Maharshi was, and is, regarded by many as an outstanding enlightened being.[73] He was a charismatic person,[74][75] and attracted many devotees, some of whom saw him as an avatar and the embodiment of Shiva.

Darshan and prasad

Main articles: Darśana and Prasad

Many devotees visited Ramana Maharshi for darshan,[76] the sight of a holy person or God incarnate, which is advantageous and transmits merit.[77][78] According to Flood, in Indian religions the guru is akin to the image or statue of a deity in the temple, and both possess power and a sacred energy.[77] According to Osborne, Ramana Maharsi regarded giving darshan as "his task in life," and said that he had to be accessible to all who came.[76] Even during his terminal sickness at the end of his life, he demanded to be approachable for all who came for his darshan.[76]

Objects being touched or used by him were highly valued by his devotees, "as they considered it to be prasad and that it passed on some of the power and blessing of the Guru to them".[79] People also tried to touch his feet,[80] which is also considered to be darshana.[81] When one devotee asked if it would be possible to prostrate before Sri Ramana and touch his feet, he replied:

The real feet of Bhagavan exist only in the heart of the devotee. To hold onto these feet incessantly is true happiness. You will be disappointed if you hold onto my physical feet because one day this physical body will disappear. The greatest worship is worshipping the Guru's feet that are within oneself.[82]

In later life, the amount of devotees and their devotion became so extensive that Ramana became restricted in his daily routine.[83] Measures had to be taken to prevent people touching him.[84] Several times Ramana tried to escape from the ashram, to return to a life of solitude. Vasudeva reports:

Bhagavan sat on a rock and said with tears in his eyes that he would never again come to the Ashram and would go where he pleased and live in the forests or caves away from all men.[85]

Ramana did return to the ashram, but has also reported himself on attempts to leave the ashram:

I tried to be free on a third occasion also. That was after mother's passing away. I did not want to have even an Ashram like Skandashram and the people that were coming there then. but the result has been this Ashram [Ramanashram] and all the crowd here. Thus all my three attempts failed.[85]

Avatar

Some of Ramana Maharshi's devotees regarded him to be as Dakshinamurthy;[86][87] as an avatar of Skanda, a divine form of Shiva popular in Tamil Nadu; as an incarnation of Jnana Sambandar, one of the sixty-three Nayanars; and as an incarnation of Kumārila Bhaṭṭa, the 8th century Mimamsa-philosopher. According to Krishna Bhikshu, one of his early biographers:

As Kumarila he established the supremacy of the karma marga, as Jnana Sambandar, a poet, he brought bhakti marga close to the people and as Ramana he showed that the purpose of life was to abide in the Self and to stay in the sahaja state by the jnana marga.[88]

Indian devotees

A number of Ramana's Marharshi's Indian devotees (not comprehensive):

Western devotees

A list of Western devotees of Ramana Maharshi (not comprehensive):

Spiritual Instruction

Ramana Maharshi sitting in the Old Hall at Sri Ramanasramam

Ramana Maharshi provided upadeśa ("spiritual instruction")[7] by providing darshan and sitting silently together with devotees and visitors, but also by answering the questions and concerns raised by those who sought him out. Many of these question-and-answer sessions have been transcribed and published by devotees, some of which have been edited by Ramana Maharshi himself. A few texts have been published which were written by Ramana Maharshi himself, or written down on his behalf and edited by him.

Ramana Maharshi also provided an example by his own devotion to Shiva, which has been extensively described by his devotees, such as walks around the holy hill Arunachala, in which devotees participated, and his hymns to Arunachala.

Self

See also: Brahman and Prakasa

Ramana Maharshi described his Self as a "force" or "current," which descended on him in his death-experience, and continued throughout his life:

... a force or current, a centre of energy playing on the body, continuing regardless of the rigidity or activity of the body, though existing in connection with it. It was that current, force or centre that constituted my Self, that kept me acting and moving, but this was the first time I came to know it [...] I had no idea at that time of the identity of that current with the personal God, or Iswara as I used to call him [...] I was only feeling that everything was being done by the current and not by me [...] This current, or avesam, now felt as if it was my Self, not a superimposition [...] That avesam continues right up to now.[web 1]

Ramana used various terms to denote this Self.[note 22] The most frequently used terms were sat-chit-ananda, which translates into English as being-consciousness-bliss;[96] God, Brahman and Siva,[note 23] and the Heart, which is not to be confused with the physical heart, or a particular point in space, but was rather to indicate that "the Self was the source from which all appearances manifested."[95]

According to David Godman, the essence of Ramana Maharshi's teachings is that the "Self" or real "I" is a "non-personal, all-inclusive awareness": [97]

The real Self or real 'I' is, contrary to perceptible experience, not an experience of individuality but a non-personal, all-inclusive awareness. It is not to be confused with the individual self which (Ramana) said was essentially non-existent, being a fabrication of the mind, which obscures the true experience of the real Self. He maintained that the real Self is always present and always experienced but he emphasized that one is only consciously aware of it as it really is when the self-limiting tendencies of the mind have ceased. Permanent and continuous Self-awareness is known as Self-realization.[97]

Ramana considered the Self to be permanent and enduring,[98] surviving physical death.[99] "The sleep, dream and waking states are mere phenomena appearing on the Self",[100] as is the "I"-thought.[98] Our "true nature" is "simple Being, free from thoughts".[101]

Ramana would field many questions about "jnanis" (liberated beings) from devotees, but even the terms "jnani" and "ajnani" (non-liberated being) are incorrect, since it leads one to the idea of there being a knower and a known, a subject and an object. The truth of it according to Ramana Maharshi is that there are neither "jnanis" nor "ajnanis", there is simply "jnana", which is Self:[102]

The jnani sees no one as an ajnani. All are only jnanis in his sight. In the ignorant state one superimposes one's ignorance on a jnani and mistakes him for a doer. In the state of jnana, the jnani sees nothing separate from the Self. The Self is all shining and only pure jnana.[103]

Silence

Ramana's main means of instruction to his devotees in order to remove ignorance and abide in Self-awareness was through silently sitting together with his visitors, [web 17][104] using words only sparingly.[105] His method of instruction has been compared to Dakshinamurti - Shiva in the ascetic appearance of the Guru, who teaches through silence:

One evening, devotees asked Sri Ramana to explain the meaning of Shankara's hymn in praise of Dakshinamurti. They waited for his answer, but in vain. The Maharishi sat motionless on his seat, in total silence.[106]

Commenting upon this silence Ramana said:

Silence is the true upadesa. It is the perfect upadesa. It is suited only for the most advanced seeker. The others are unable to draw full inspiration from it. Therefore, they require words to explain the truth. But truth is beyond words; it does not warrant explanation. All that is possible is to indicate It. How is that to be done?[107]

Self-enquiry

Vichara, "Self-enquiry", also called ātma-vichār or jnana-vichara[108] is the constant attention to the inner awareness of "I" or "I am". Ramana Maharshi frequently recommended it as the most efficient and direct way of realizing Self-awareness, in response to questions on self-liberation and the classic texts on Yoga and Vedanta.[web 6][109][quote 3][note 24]

According to Ramana Maharshi, the I-thought[note 25] is the sense of individuality: "(Aham, aham) ‘I-I’ is the Self; (Aham idam) “I am this” or “I am that” is the ego."[112] By paying attention to the 'I'-thought, inquiring where it comes from,[web 20][note 26] the 'I'-thought will disappear and the "shining forth" (sphurana)[web 5] of "I-I"[web 18][note 27] or Self-awareness will appear.[note 28] This results in an "effortless awareness of being",[web 20] and by staying with it[web 5][note 29] this "I-I" gradually destroys the vasanas "which cause the 'I'-thought to rise."[web 20] When the vasanas disappear, the mind, vritti[note 30] also comes to rest, since it centers around the 'I'-thought,[113] and finally the 'I'-thought never rises again, which is Self-realization or liberation:[114][web 20]

If one remains still without leaving it, even the sphurana – having completely annihilated the sense of the individuality, the form of the ego, 'I am the body' – will itself in the end subside, just like the flame that catches the camphor. This alone is said to be liberation by great ones and scriptures. (The Mountain Path, 1982, p. 98). [web 5][note 31]

Robert Forman notes that Ramana Maharshi made a distinction between samadhi and sahaja samadhi. Samadhi is a contemplative state, which is temporary, while in sahaja samadhi a "silent state" is maintained while engaged in daily activities.[115] Ramana Maharshi himself stated repeatedly that samadhi only suppresses the vāsanās, the karmic impressions, but does not destroy them. Only by abiding in Self-awareness will the vāsanās, which create the sense of a separate self, be destroyed, and sahaja samadhi be attained.[note 32]

Bhakti

Main articles: Bhakti and Bhakti movement

Although he advocated self-enquiry as the fastest means to realisation, he also recommended the path of bhakti and self-surrender (to one's deity or guru) either concurrently or as an adequate alternative, which would ultimately converge with the path of self-enquiry.[117]

Surrender has to be complete and desireless, without any expectations of solutions or rewards, or even liberation. It is a willingness to accept whatever happens.[web 2] Surrender is not the willfull act of an individual self, but the growing awareness that there is no individual self to surrender. Practice is aimed at the removal of ignorance, not at the attainment of realisation.[web 2]

Reincarnation

According to David Godman, Ramana Maharshi taught that the idea of reincarnation is based on wrong ideas about the individual self as being real. Ramana Maharshi would sometimes say that rebirth does exist, to step forward to those who were not able to fully grasp the non-reality of the individual self. But when this illusoriness is realised, there is no room any more for ideas about reincarnation. When the identification with the body stops, any notions about death and rebirth become inapplicable, since there is no birth or death within Self.[3] Ramana Maharshi:

Reincarnation exists only so long as there is ignorance. There is really no reincarnation at all, either now or before. Nor will there be any hereafter. This is the truth.[3]

Background

Indian spirituality

According to Wehr, C.G. Jung noted that Ramana Maharshi is not to be regarded as an "isolated phenomenon",[118] but as a token of Indian spirituality, "manifest in many forms in everyday Indian life".[118][note 33] According to Zimmer and Jung, Ramana's appearance as a mauni, a silent saint absorbed in samadhi, fitted into pre-existing Indian notions of holiness.[119][120] They placed the Indian devotion toward Ramana Maharshi in this Indian context.[120][118][note 34] According to Alan Edwards, the popular image of Ramana Maharshi as a timeless saint also served the construction of an Indian identity as inner-oriented and spiritual, in opposition to the oppressive, outer-oriented, materialistic culture of the British colonial rulers:[122]

Hindus from all over India could look to the purely spiritual Maharshi as a symbol that inspired them to preserve their distinctive national culture and identity, which of course entailed forcing the British to quit India‟.[123][note 35]

Shaivism

Main articles: Shaiva Siddhanta, Kaula and Siddha

Though Ramana's answers explain and incorporate elements from Advaita Vedanta, his spiritual life is strongly associated with Shaivism.[note 36] Tamil culture has a long tradition of devotional spiritual practices[125][126] and non-monastic religious authority,[127] such as the Nayanars and the Siddhas. Shaiva Siddhanta, the Shaivism which is prevalent in Tamil Nadu, combines the original emphasis on ritual fused with an intense devotional tradition expressed in the bhakti poetry of the Nayanars.[128] In contrast to Shankara's Vedanta, which speaks of Maya and sees "this world as a trap and an illusion, Shaivism says it is the embodiment of the Divine".[129] It speaks of "the Goddess Shakti, or spiritual energy, portrayed as the Divine Mother who redeems the material world".[129]

The Tamil compendium of devotional songs known as Tirumurai, along with the Vedas, the Shaiva Agamas and "Meykanda" or "Siddhanta" Shastras, form the scriptural canon of Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta.[130] Osborne notes that Ramana was born at Arudra Darshan, the day of the 'Sight of Siva'[web 3] As a youth, prior to his awakening, Ramana read the Periya Puranam, the stories of the 63 Tamil saints.[131] In later life, he told those stories to his devotees:

When telling these stories, he used to dramatize the characters of the main figures in voice and gesture and seemed to identify himself fully with them.[132]

Ramana himself considered God, Guru and Self to be the manifestations of the same reality.[web 26] Ramana considered the Self to be his guru, in the form of the sacred mountain Arunachala,[133][134] which is considered to be the manifestation of Shiva.[135][133] Arunachala is one of the five main shaivite holy places in South India,[136] which can be worshipped through the mantra "Om arunachala shivaya namah!"[137] and by Pradakshina, walking around the mountain, a practice which was often performed by Ramana.[133] Asked about the special sanctity of Arunachala, Ramana said that Arunachala is Shiva himself.[138][note 37] In his later years, Ramana said it was the spiritual power of Arunachala which had brought about his Self-realisation.[135] He composed the Five Hymns to Arunachala as devotional song.[133] On the three occasions Venkataraman (Ramana) referred to himself he used the name Arunachala Ramana.[139] Ramana Maharshi also used to smear his forehead with holy ash, as a token of veneration.

In later life, Ramana himself came to be regarded as Dakshinamurthy,[86][87] an aspect of Shiva as a guru of all types of knowledge, and bestower of jnana. This aspect of Shiva is his personification as the supreme or the ultimate awareness, understanding and knowledge.[140] This form represents Shiva in his aspect as a teacher of yoga, music, and wisdom, and giving exposition on the shastras.

Advaita Vedanta

Adi Shankara with Disciples, by Raja Ravi Varma (1904)

Via his devotees Ramana Maharshi became acquainted with classic texts on Yoga and Vedanta.[80][10] Ramana himself did not call his insights advaita, but said that dvaita and advaita are relative terms, based on a sense of duality, while the Self or Being is all there is.[141]

Although Ramana's teaching is consistent with and generally associated with Hinduism, the Upanishads and Advaita Vedanta, there are some differences with the traditional Advaitic school. Advaita recommends a negationist neti, neti (Sanskrit, "not this", "not this") path, or mental affirmations that the Self is the only reality, such as "I am Brahman" or "I am He", while Ramana advocated Self-enquiry "Nan Yar". In contrast with traditional Advaita Vedanta, Ramana Maharshi strongly discouraged devotees from adopting a renunciate lifestyle and renouncing their responsibilities. To one devotee who felt he should abandon his family, whom he described as "samsara" (illusion), to intensify his spiritual practice, Sri Ramana replied:

Oh! Is that so? What really is meant by samsara? Is it within or without? Wife, children and others. Is that all the samsara? What have they done? Please find out first what really is meant by samsara. Afterwards we shall consider the question of abandoning them.[142]

Acquaintance with Hindu scriptures

During his lifetime, through contact with educated devotees like Ganapata Muni,[132] Ramana Maharshi became acquainted with works on Shaivism and Advaita Vedanta, and used them to explain his insights:[143]

People wonder how I speak of Bhagavad Gita, etc. It is due to hearsay. I have not read the Gita nor waded through commentaries for its meaning. When I hear a sloka (verse), I think its meaning is clear and I say it. That is all and nothing more.[144]

Already in 1896, a few months after his arrival at Arunachala, Ramana attracted his first disciple, Uddandi Nayinar,[145] who recognised in the him "the living embodiment of the Holy Scriptures".[146] Uddandi was well-versed in classic texts on Yoga and Vedanta, and recited texts as the Yoga Vasistha and Kaivalya Navaneeta in Ramana's presence.[146]

In 1897 Ramana was joined by Palaniswami, who became his attendant.[147] Palaniswami studied books in Tamil on Vedanta, such as Kaivalya Navaneeta, Shankara's Vivekachudamani, and Yoga Vasistha. He had difficulties understanding Tamil. Ramana read the books too, and explained them to Palanaswami.[148]

As early as 1900, when Ramana was 20 years old, he became acquainted with the teachings of the Hindu monk and Neo-Vedanta[149][150] teacher Swami Vivekananda through Gambhiram Seshayya. Seshayya was interested in yoga techniques, and "used to bring his books and explain his difficulties".[151] Ramana answered on small scraps of paper, which were collected after his death in the late 1920s in a booklet called Vichara Sangraham, "Self-enquiry".[151]

One of the works that Ramana used to explain his insights was the Ribhu Gita, a song at the heart of the Shivarahasya Purana, one of the 'Shaiva Upapuranas' or ancillary Purana regarding Shiva and Shaivite worship. Another work used by him was the Dakshinamurthy Stotram, a text by Shankara.[132] It is a hymn to Shiva, explaining Advaita Vedanta.

Ramana gave his approval to a variety of paths and practices from various religions,[3] with his own upadesa (instruction or guidance given to a disciple by his Guru)[web 28] always pointing to the true Self of the devotees.[152]

Legacy

Although many claim to be influenced by him,[web 29] Ramana Maharshi did not publicise himself as a guru,[153] never claimed to have disciples,[web 30] and never appointed any successors.[web 31][web 32] While a few who came to see him are said to have become enlightened through association,[note 38] he did not publicly acknowledge any living person as liberated[web 30] other than his mother at death.[154] Ramana never promoted any lineage.

With regard to Sri Ramana Ashram, Maharshi had in 1938 made a legal will bequeathing all the Ramanashram properties to his younger brother Niranjanananda and his descendants. The Ramanashram as in 2013 is run by Sri Niranjananda's grandson Sri V.S. Raman. Ramanashram is legally recognised as a public religious trust whose aim was to maintain Ramanasramam in a way that was consonant with Sri Ramana's declared wishes that is the ashram should remain open as a spiritual institution so that anyone who wished to could avail themselves of its facilities.[155][web 34]

In the 1930s Maharshi's teachings were brought to the west by Paul Brunton in his A Search in Secret India.[156][note 39] Stimulated by Arthur Osborne, in the 1960s Bhagawat Singh actively started to spread Ramana Maharshi's teachings in the USA.[156] Ramana Maharshi has been further popularised in the west by the neo-Advaita movement,[165] which the students of H. W. L. Poonja have been instrumental in,[165] and which gives a western re-interpretation of his teachings which places sole emphasis on insight alone. It has been criticised for this emphasis on insight alone, omitting the preparatory practices.[166][note 40] Nevertheless, Neo-Advaita has become an important constituent of popular western spirituality.[167]

Works

Writings

According to Ebert, Ramana "never felt moved to formulate his teaching of his own accord, either verbally or in writing". The few writings he is credited with "came into being as answers to questions asked by his disciples or through their urging". Only a few hymns were written on his own initiative.[168] Writings by Ramana are:

All these texts are collected in the Collected works.

Recorded talks

Several collections of recorded talks, in which Ramana used Tamil, Telugu and Malayalam,[3] have been published. Those are based on written transcripts, which were "hurriedly written down in English by his official interpreters".[3][note 41]

Reminiscences

Documentaries

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ Bhagavan means God, Sri is an honorific title, Ramana is a short form of Venkataraman, and Maharshi means 'great seer' in Sanskrit. The name was given to him in 1907 by one of his first devotees, Ganapati Muni.
  2. 1 2 3 Ramana Maharshi used the word avesam, which may be translated as "being taken over by a spirit,"[web 1] but also as "divine madness."[33] The term may refer to both dēva āveśam, "divine inspiration,"[34] and to bādhā āveśam, "demonic inspiration."[34] According to the editors of The Mountain Path, Ramana at first thought that he was possessed by a spirit, "which had taken up residence in his body".[web 1]

    Ramana Maharshi used it to refer to a "force" or "current," which he recognized as his true "I", and later recognized as identical with "the personal God, or Iswara." Ramana Maharshi: "I felt that there was a force or current, a centre of energy playing on the body, continuing regardless of the rigidity or activity of the body, though existing in connection with it. It was that current, force or centre that constituted my Self, that kept me acting and moving, but this was the first time I came to know it [...] I had no idea at that time of the identity of that current with the personal God, or Iswara as I used to call him. [...] I was only feeling that everything was being done by the current and not by me, a feeling I had had ever since I wrote my parting note and left home. I had ceased to regard the current as my narrow ‘I’. This current, or avesam, now felt as if it was my Self, not a superimposition [...] the awakening gave me a continuous idea or feeling that my Self was a current or force in which I was perpetually absorbed whatever I did [...] That avesam continues right up to now. After reading the language of the sacred books, I see it may be termed suddha manas [pure mind], akhandakara vritti [unbroken experience], prajna [true knowledge] etc.; that is, the state of mind of Iswara or the jnani."[web 1]

    Regarding "spirit possession" in Tamil culture, Lynn Foulston notes: "Possession is also a prominent feature of local worship in Tamil Nadu, and the term for it, iranku, means to 'descend'. The person on which the deity is thought to have descended is then referred to as a camyati, or 'god-dancer'."[35]
  3. ↑ Heinrich Zimmer uses the term "the intuition of the enlightened." Ramana, as cited by Zimmer: "When I later in Tiruvannamalai listened, how the "Ribhu Gita" and such sacred texts were read, I caught these things and discovered that these books named and analysed, what I before involuntarily felt, without being able to appoint or analyse. In the language of these books I could denote the state in which I found myself after my awakening as "cleaned understanding" (shuddham manas) or "Insight" (Vijñāna): as 'the intuition of the Enlightened'".[6]
  4. ↑ The phrase ‘incomplete practice from a past birth clinging to me’ includes the Tamil term vittakurai which the Tamil Lexicon defines as ‘Karma resulting from acts performed in a previous birth, and which are considered to be the cause of progress in the current birth’. The implication is that some spiritual practice performed in a previous life carried forward and drew the young Venkararaman into states of absorption in which he was unaware of either his body or his surroundings.
  5. ↑ Brunton's statement is at odds with all other sources on Ramana Maharshi, including his own accounts, that he underwent a life-changing event at age sixteen.
  6. ↑ The Periyapuranam is considered a fifth Veda in Tamil and immediately took its place as the twelfth and the last book in the Saiva canon. It commemorates the golden age of the Cholas.[25]
  7. ↑ See Saint Sekkizhar’s Periya Puraanam, translated by R. Rangachari, published by Sri Ramanasramam, 2008, ISBN 81-8288-086-6.
  8. ↑ Tamil Shaivism resulted from a merger of the Tamil bhakti Shaivism of the Nayanras with Shaiva Siddhanta,[26] also called Shuddha Saivism or tantric Saivism,[27] which was restricted by the time of Muslim rule to south India.[28] Shaiva Siddhanta is non-Puranic and dualistic Shaivism, as expounded by Meykandar (see shaivam.org, Meykandar - Life history). but Tamil Shaivism also contains non-dualistic strands of thought, for example Tirumular,[29] (ca. 12th century CE), one of the 63 Nayanars and one of the 18 Siddhars. His main work, the Tirumantiram, forms a part of the key text of the Tamil Shaiva Siddhanta, the Tirumurai. Later authors, under the influence of Advaita Vedanta, also voiced a non-dualist understanding of Shaivism which still exists today.[30] This non-dualistic approach was furthered by the idea that Shiva devotees have to "melt" or "merge" with Shiva.[30]
  9. 1 2 Osborne explicitly mentions the Meenakshi Temple at Madura, and situates the awakening of this "new current of awareness" prior to Ramana Maharshi's death experience. Other biographical accounts don't mention this episode.
  10. ↑ According to David Godman, the date 17 July 1896 is based on astrology. Whether Venkataraman's awakening truly occurred on 17 July 1896, or rather, on a nearby date either side of the 17th, is unknown. However, it is known that Venkataraman's awakening did take place at some point in the middle of July of 1896.
  11. ↑ See, for example, this blog, for the account.
  12. ↑ Narasimha Swami came to the Ashram in 1925; his biography of Ramana was published in 1931. In 1930, over a period of six weeks, Narasimha Swami had a series of conversations with Ramana on this experience. He summarised these conversations in his own words, which can be found in Self Realisation. Two records of these conversations were published in The Mountain Path in 1981, and provide additional information on this event. They start with the onset of the avesam, "current" or "force. This onset is omitted in Self-Realisation, and avesam is translated as "Spirit."

    Narasimha did not publish the exact words of Ramana:[37] "The account in the book was not a direct transcription of Bhagavan’s words, and the author makes this clear in a footnote which has appeared in most of the editions of the book. He said that he was merely summarising, in his own words, a series of conversations which he had with Bhagavan over a period of six weeks in 1930."[web 1]

    Narasimha's footnote: "The exact words [of the death experience] have not been recorded. The Swami as a rule talks quite impersonally. There is seldom any clear pronounced reference to 'I' and 'you' in what he says. The genius of Tamil is specially suited for such impersonal utterances, and he generally talks Tamil. However, one studying his words and ways discovers personal references, mostly veiled. His actual words may be found too colourless and hazy to suit or appeal to many readers, especially of the western type. Hence the use here of the customary phraseology with its distinct personal reference."[38][web 5]

    For Narasimha Swami, Self Realization, see
  13. ↑ According to David Godman, the account in the Sri Ramana Leela "is surprisingly short, but (has) interesting additions and variations from the English version that was recorded by Narasimha Swami [...] and which has been shorn of both Narasimha Swami’s embellishments and his gratuitous insertions of the pronoun ‘I’."[web 5]
  14. ↑ Published in Day by Day with Bhagavan, 22nd November 1945
  15. ↑ David Godman: "Bhagavan frequently used the Sanskrit phrase aham sphurana to indicate the 'I-I' consciousness or experience. Aham means 'I' and sphurana can be translated as 'radiation, emanation, or pulsation'."[web 6]
  16. ↑ An extensive account on Ramana's use of the words "Self", "I-I" and "aham sphurana" is given in [web 6]
  17. ↑ Published in Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, 22nd November, 1945
  18. ↑ Rama P. Coomaraswamy: "[Krama-mukti is] to be distinguished from jîvan-mukti, the state of total and immediate liberation attained during this lifetime, and videha-mukti, the state of total liberation attained at the moment of death."[39] See [web 8] for more info on "gradual liberation".
  19. ↑ Literally, "One who has poetry in his throat".
  20. ↑ See Frank H. Humphreys, Glimpses of the Life and Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi for Humphreys writings on Ramana Maharshi.
  21. ↑ About Frydman, Sri Ramana had remarked "He belongs only here (to India). Somehow he was born abroad, but has come again here." [web 16]
  22. ↑ According to David Godman, each term signifies a different aspect of "the same indivisible reality."[95]
  23. ↑ According to David Godman, Ramana would use these terms not to refer to a personal God, but to the "formless being which sustains the universe";[95]
  24. ↑ According to Krishna Bhikshu, an early biographer of Ramana Maharshi, "[a] new path for attaining moksha was indicated here. Nobody else had discovered this path earlier."[53] According to David Frawley, "atma-vichara" is the most important practice in the Advaita Vedanta tradition, predating its popularisation by Ramana Maharshi.[web 19] It is part of the eighth limb of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, which describes the various stages of samadhi. Meditation on "I-am-ness" is a subtle object of meditation in savikalpa samadhi.[110] It is also described in the Yoga Vasistha, a syncretic work which may date from the 6th or 7th century CE, and shows influences from Yoga, Samkhya, Saiva Siddhanta and Mahayana Buddhism, especially Yogacara.[111] The practice is also well-known from Chinese Chán Buddhism, especially from Dahui Zonggao's Hua Tou practice.
  25. ↑ Ahamkara or Aham-Vritti[web 20]
  26. ↑ According to Ramana Maharshi, one realises that it rises in the hṛdayam (heart). "Hṛdayam" consists of two syllables 'hṛt' and 'ayam' which signify "I am the Heart".[web 21] The use of the word "hṛdayam" is not unique to Ramana Maharshi. A famous Buddhist use is the Prajñāpāramitā Hṛdaya Sutra, the Heart Sutra
  27. ↑ "Nan-nan," literally "I-I", also translated as "I am, I am", "being-consciousness",[web 22] and "I am I".[web 23] According to David Godman, the "I-I" is an intermediary realisation between the "I" (ego) and the Self. "[T]he verses on 'I-I' that Bhagavan wrote are open to two interpretations. They can be taken either to mean that the 'I-I' is experienced as a consequence of realisation or as a precursor to it. My own view, and I would stress that it is only a personal opinion, is that the evidence points to it being a precursor only.[web 24]
  28. ↑ Ramana Maharshi: "(Aham, aham) ‘I-I’ is the Self; (Aham idam) “I am this” or “I am that” is the ego. Shining is there always. The ego is transitory; When the ‘I’ is kept up as ‘I’ alone it is the Self; when it flies at a tangent and says “this” it is the ego." [112] David Godman: "the expression 'nan-nan' ('I-I' in Tamil) would generally be taken to mean 'I am I' by a Tamilian. This interpretation would make 'I-I' an emphatic statement of Self-awareness akin to the biblical 'I am that I am' which Bhagavan occasionally said summarised the whole of Vedanta. Bhagavan himself has said that he used the term 'I-I' to denote the import of the word 'I'."[web 6]
  29. ↑ According to Sadu Om, self-enquiry can also be seen as 'Self-attention' or 'Self-abiding'.[48]
  30. ↑ Conceptual thinking, memory, the creation of "things" in the mind
  31. ↑ Ramana Maharshi: "Liberation (mukti) is the total destruction of the I-impetus aham-kara, of the "me"- and "my"-impetus (mama-kara)".[114]
  32. ↑ The distinction, made by Walter Terence Stace, between "introvertive mysticism" and "extrovertive mysticism," is at the heart of the contemporary debates on mysticism and mystical experience. Whereas Stace regarded these two forms as different forms of mysticism, Forman sees them as developmental stages. Forman also notes that "the first experience of samadhi [by Ramana] preceded sahaja samadhi by several years."[116] See also Training after kenshō.
  33. ↑ Jung wrote the foreword to Heinrich Zimmer's Der Weg zum Selbst, "The Path to the Self" (1944),[118] an early collection of translations of Ramana's teachings in a western language.
  34. ↑ Michaels uses Bourdieu's notion of habitus to point to the power of "culturally acquired lifestyles and attitudes, habits and predispositions, as well as conscious, deliberate acts or mythological, theological, or philosophical artifacts and mental productions"[121] in his understanding of Hinduism.
  35. ↑ Edwards notes the pervading influence of western Orientalism on the perception of Ramana Maharshi, even in western scholarship, which tends to favour this picture of the timeless guru: "...scholarship can misinterpret and misrepresent religious figures because of the failure to recognise the presence of [Orientalist stereotypes] and assumptions, and also because of the failure to maintain critical distance when dealing with the rhetoric of devotional literature."[web 25] See also King, Richard (2002), Orientalism and Religion: Post-Colonial Theory, India and "The Mystic East", Routledge, and Zen Narratives for a similar romantisation of Zen and its archetypal Rōshi.
  36. ↑ Shankara himself was said to be a shaivite, or even a reincarnation of Shiva.[124]
  37. ↑ Shankara saw Arunchala as Mount Meru, which is in Indian mythology the axis of the world, and the abode of Brahman and the gods.[web 27]
  38. ↑ For example, H. W. L. Poonja[web 33]
  39. ↑ Brunton had been a member of the Theosophical Society, which searched for ancient wisdom in the east, and the Society was a major force in the exposure of the west to Asian spirituality.[157][158] One of its salient features was the belief in "Masters of Wisdom".[159] The Theosophical Society also spread western ideas in the east, aiding a modernisation of eastern traditions, and contributing to a growing nationalism in the Asian colonies.[160] The Theosophical Society had a major influence on Buddhist modernism[160] and Hindu reform movements,[157] and the spread of those modernised versions in the west.[160] The Theosophical Society and the Arya Samaj were united from 1878 to 1882, as the Theosophical Society of the Arya Samaj.[161] Along with H. S. Olcott and Anagarika Dharmapala, Blavatsky was instrumental in the Western transmission and revival of Theravada Buddhism.[162][163][164]
  40. ↑ See also Timothy Conway, Neo-Advaita or Pseudo-Advaita and Real Advaita-Nonduality ]
  41. ↑ David Godman: "Because some of the interpreters were not completely fluent in English some of the transcriptions were either ungrammatical or written in a kind of stilted English which occasionally makes Sri Ramana sound like a pompous Victorian."[3]
  42. ↑ See Frank H. Humphreys, Glimpses of the Life and Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi for Humphreys writings on Ramana Maharshi.

Quotes

  1. ↑ David Godman: "Many people have reported similar unexpected experiences but they are almost invariably temporary. In Venkataraman’s case the experience was permanent and irreversible. From that time on his consciousness of being an individual person ceased to exist and it never functioned in him again."[5]
  2. ↑ According to David Godman, yet another account is given by Ramana in Vichara Sangraham (Self-Enquiry):[web 5] "Therefore, leaving the corpse-like body as an actual corpse and remaining without even uttering the word 'I' by mouth, if one now keenly enquires, 'What is it that rises as "I"?’ then in the Heart a certain soundless sphurana, 'I-I', will shine forth of its own accord. It is an awareness that is single and undivided, the thoughts which are many and divided having disappeared. If one remains still without leaving it, even the sphurana – having completely annihilated the sense of the individuality, the form of the ego, 'I am the body' – will itself in the end subside, just like the flame that catches the camphor. This alone is said to be liberation by great ones and scriptures. (The Mountain Path, 1982, p. 98)." [web 5] The arguments for this conclusion are given by David Godman in [web 6]
  3. ↑ Ramana's written works contain terse descriptions of self-enquiry. Verse thirty of Ulladu Narpadu: "Questioning 'Who am I?' within one's mind, when one reaches the Heart, the individual 'I' sinks crestfallen, and at once reality manifests itself as 'I-I'. Though it reveals itself thus, it is not the ego 'I' but the perfect being the Self Absolute.[web 18] Verses nineteen and twenty of Upadesa Undiyar describe the same process in almost identical terms: "'Whence does the 'I' arise?' Seek this within. The 'I' then vanishes. This is the pursuit of wisdom. Where the 'I' vanished, there appears an 'I-I' by itself. This is the infinite.[web 18]

References

  1. ↑ Sharma 2006.
  2. ↑ Fort 1998, p. 134-151.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Godman 1985.
  4. ↑ Osborne 2002, p. 5-6.
  5. 1 2 Godman 1985, p. 4.
  6. ↑ Zimmer 1948, p. 23.
  7. 1 2 Osborne 1959.
  8. ↑ Godman 1985, p. 5.
  9. ↑ Lucas 2011.
  10. 1 2 Zimmer 1948.
  11. 1 2 3 Osborne 2002.
  12. 1 2 3 Osborne 2002, p. 3.
  13. ↑ Bhikshu 2004, p. ch2.
  14. ↑ Wlliamson 2010, p. 11.
  15. 1 2 3 Bhikshu 2004, p. ch3.
  16. ↑ Narasimha Swami 1993, p. 21.
  17. ↑ Osborne 2002, p. 4.
  18. 1 2 Zimmer 1948, p. 14.
  19. ↑ Bhikshu 2004.
  20. 1 2 Brunton & Venkataramiah 1984.
  21. 1 2 Sharma 1993, p. 88.
  22. 1 2 3 Natarajan 2006.
  23. ↑ Bhikshu 2004, p. ch4.
  24. 1 2 3 Osborne 2002, p. 5.
  25. ↑ Ayyappapanicker 1997.
  26. ↑ Flood 1996, p. 120.
  27. ↑ 2006, p. 120.
  28. ↑ Flood 2006, p. 34.
  29. ↑ Subramuniyaswami 2003.
  30. 1 2 Melton & Baumann 2010, p. 2809.
  31. ↑ Osborne 2002, p. 6.
  32. ↑ Osborne 2002, p. 7.
  33. ↑ Dehejia 1988, p. 65.
  34. 1 2 Smith 2012, p. 137.
  35. ↑ Foulston 2012, p. 621.
  36. ↑ Narasimha 1993, p. 20-21.
  37. ↑ Zimmer 1948, p. 18.
  38. ↑ Narasimha Swami 2003, p. 20, footnote.
  39. ↑ Coomaraswamy 2004.
  40. ↑ Osborne 2002, p. 13.
  41. ↑ Osborne 1970, p. 25.
  42. 1 2 Sri Ramanasramam 1981.
  43. ↑ Osborne 1970, p. 30.
  44. 1 2 3 Osborne 1970, p. 35.
  45. 1 2 Osborne 2002, p. 31.
  46. 1 2 Osborne 1970, p. 36.
  47. ↑ Osborne 1970, p. 37.
  48. 1 2 3 Sadhu Om 2005.
  49. ↑ Sri Ramanasramam 1981, p. 34.
  50. ↑ Ebert 2006, p. 71.
  51. ↑ Natarajan 2006, p. 27-29.
  52. ↑ Ramana Maharshi 1982.
  53. 1 2 3 Bhikshu 2012, p. ch.22.
  54. ↑ Sadhu Om 2005, p. 15.
  55. 1 2 Osborne 2002, p. 106, 111.
  56. ↑ Narahamsi 1993, p. 268-269.
  57. ↑ Narahamsi 1993, p. 269.
  58. ↑ Osborne 2002, p. 60-62.
  59. ↑ Godman 2000, p. 140.
  60. ↑ Zimmer 1948, p. 44.
  61. ↑ Ebert 2006, p. 107-114.
  62. ↑ Ebert 2006, p. 109.
  63. ↑ Godman 1998.
  64. 1 2 3 Ebert 2006, p. 140.
  65. ↑ Brunton 1994.
  66. ↑ Brunton 1994, p. 289.
  67. ↑ Brunton 1994, p. 292-294.
  68. ↑ Brunton 1994, p. 301.
  69. ↑ Brunton 1994, p. 302.
  70. ↑ Brunton 1994, p. 304-305.
  71. ↑ Brunton 1994, p. 310.
  72. ↑ Cohen 1980.
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  74. ↑ Sivaramkrishna 2008, p. 16.
  75. ↑ Thompson 2011, p. 43.
  76. 1 2 3 Osborne 2002, p. 139.
  77. 1 2 Flood 2011, p. 194.
  78. ↑ Hinduism Today 2007, p. 149-151.
  79. ↑ Ebert 2006, p. 152-153.
  80. 1 2 Ebert 2006.
  81. ↑ Hinduism Today 2007, p. 151-152.
  82. ↑ Godman 1994.
  83. ↑ Ebert 2006, p. 124-125.
  84. ↑ Ebert 2006, p. 125.
  85. 1 2 Ebert 2006, p. 126.
  86. 1 2 Frawley 1996, p. 92-93.
  87. 1 2 Paranjape 2009, p. 57-58.
  88. ↑ Bhikshu 2004, p. ch.49.
  89. ↑ Osborne 2002, p. 34.
  90. ↑ Rao 1991, p. 99.
  91. ↑ Osborne 2002, p. 101.
  92. ↑ Osborne 2002, p. 103-104.
  93. ↑ Ganesan, p. 257.
  94. ↑ Ganesan 1993, p. 21.
  95. 1 2 3 Godman 1985, p. 7.
  96. ↑ Godman 1985, p. 13.
  97. 1 2 Godman 1985, p. 12.
  98. 1 2 Venkataramiah 2000, p. 463.
  99. ↑ Venkataramiah 2000, p. 308.
  100. ↑ Venkataramiah 2000, p. 462.
  101. ↑ Venkataramiah 2000, p. 467.
  102. ↑ Godman 1985, p. 51-52.
  103. ↑ Godman 1985, p. 60.
  104. ↑ Ebert 2006, p. 211-213.
  105. ↑ Ebert 2006, p. 144.
  106. ↑ Ebert 2006, p. 212.
  107. ↑ Venkatramaiah 2000, p. 433.
  108. ↑ Sadhu Om 2005, p. 136.
  109. ↑ Godman 1985, p. 6&7.
  110. ↑ Maehle 2007, p. 178.
  111. ↑ Chapple 1984, p. xii.
  112. 1 2 Venkataramiah 2000, p. 363.
  113. ↑ Venkataramiah 2006.
  114. 1 2 Zimmer 1948, p. 195.
  115. ↑ Forman 1999, p. 6.
  116. ↑ Forman 1999, p. 45, note 27.
  117. ↑ Sadhu Om 2005-B.
  118. 1 2 3 4 Wehr 2003.
  119. ↑ Zimmer 1948, p. 53-55.
  120. 1 2 Jung 1948, p. 226-228.
  121. ↑ Michaels 2004, p. 7.
  122. ↑ Edwards 2012, p. 98-99.
  123. ↑ Edwards 2012, p. 99.
  124. ↑ Dalal 2011, p. 371.
  125. ↑ Peterson 1989, p. 3-4.
  126. ↑ Stein 2010, p. 117-118.
  127. ↑ Davidson 2004, p. 2-4.
  128. ↑ Flood 1996, p. 168.
  129. 1 2 Shankarananda 2011.
  130. ↑ Arulsamy 1987, p. 1.
  131. ↑ Narasimha Swami 1993, p. 17.
  132. 1 2 3 Ebert 2006, p. 147.
  133. 1 2 3 4 Cornille 1992, p. 83.
  134. ↑ Poonja 2000, p. 59.
  135. 1 2 Godman 1985, p. 2.
  136. ↑ Singh 2009.
  137. ↑ Frawley 2000, p. 121-122.
  138. ↑ Venkataramiah 1936, p. Talk 143.
  139. ↑ Ganesan, p. 9.
  140. ↑ Dallapiccola 2002.
  141. ↑ Venkataramiah 2000, p. 328-329.
  142. ↑ Letters from Sri Ramanasramam 1973.
  143. ↑ Narasimha Swami 1993, p. 24.
  144. ↑ Venkataramiah 2000, p. 315.
  145. ↑ Ebert 2006, p. 45-46.
  146. 1 2 Ebert 2006, p. 46.
  147. ↑ Ebert 2006, p. 51-52.
  148. ↑ Ebert 2006, p. 53.
  149. ↑ Mukerji 1983.
  150. ↑ King 1999.
  151. 1 2 Ebert 2006, p. 77.
  152. ↑ Zimmer 1948, p. 192.
  153. ↑ Forsthoefel 2005, p. 37.
  154. ↑ Osborne 1959, p. 74.
  155. ↑ Osborne2002, p. ch.12.
  156. 1 2 Lucas 2011, p. 99.
  157. 1 2 Sinari 2000.
  158. ↑ Lavoie 2012.
  159. ↑ Gilchrist 1996, p. 32.
  160. 1 2 3 McMahan 2008.
  161. ↑ Johnson 1994, p. 107.
  162. ↑ McMahan 2008, p. 98.
  163. ↑ Gombrich 1996, p. 185-188.
  164. ↑ Fields 1992, p. 83-118.
  165. 1 2 Lucas 2011, p. 94.
  166. ↑ Lucas 2014.
  167. ↑ Lucas 2011, p. 109.
  168. ↑ Ebert 2006, p. 78.
  169. 1 2 Renard 1999, p. 19-20.
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  172. ↑ Renard 1999, p. 26.
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Translations of Indian texts

  1. ↑ Marital Garland of Letters
  2. ↑ Happines of Being, Guru Vachaka Kovai

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