Vedic Thought

"You do not know what you were
before birth, yet you want to know
what you will be after death.
Do you know what you are now?
Birth pertains to the body. You
are identifying the Self with the
body.

It is wrong identification. You
believe that the body was born
and will die, and confound the
phenomena relating to the one
with the other.

Know your real Being
and these questions will not arise."

"Know the Self
and do not be perturbed by doubts."

[from] Talks with Ramana Maharshi

-recorded, Nov 10, 1936-

"Meditation is on a form. That will drive away
other thoughts. The one thought of God will
dominate others. That is concentration. The
object of meditation is thus the same as that
of vichara [inquiry].
God is seen in the mind. The concrete form
may be seen. Still it is only in the devotee's
mind. The form and appearance of God--
manifestation are determined by the mind
of the devotee. But it is not the finality.
There is still the sense of duality. It is like
a dream-vision. After God is perceived,
vichara begins. That ends in Realization
of the Self."

[from] Talks with Ramana Maharshi

-recorded, Sept 29, 1936-


"As for Grace, it is within you.
Were it external, it would be useless.
Grace is the Self.
You are never out of its operation.
Grace is always there.
Is not Grace already there?
Is there a moment when Grace is
not operating in you? Your remembrance
is the forerunner of Grace. That is the
response, that is the stimulus, that is
the Self, and that is Grace.
There is no cause for anxiety."

Destroying through discrimination
The basic error that I am the body,
An object, and rejecting it
And the world as mere mirages false,
The Awareness that surviving shines
Alone as Being, That am I.

"When you adhere to one philosophical system,
you are obliged to condemn the others. That
is the case with the heads of monastery's.
All people cannot be expected to do the same
kind of action. Each one acts according to his
temperament and his natural tendencies.
Wisdom, Devotion, Action are all interlocked.
Meditation on forms is according to one's own
mind. It is meant for ridding oneself of other
forms and confining oneself to one form. It
leads to the goal. It is impossible to fix the
mind in the Heart to start with, so these aids
are helpful initially.
It is certain that each one thinks of God
according to his own degree of advancement.
Should there not be infinite capacities for
God?
Which ever method one follows, that method
is encouraged by the Sages; for it will lead to
the goal."

"The birth of the 'I' thought is one's own birth;
its death is the person's death. After the 'I'
thought has arisen, the wrong identity with
the body arises. Thinking yourself the body,
you give false values to others and identify
them with bodies. Just as your body has been
born, grows, and will perish, so also you think
the other was born, grew up and died.
If you cease to identify yourself with the body,
but see the real Self, this confusion will vanish.
You are eternal.
The others also will be similarly be found to be
eternal. Until this truth is realized, there will
always be this grief due to false values arising
from wrong knowledge and wrong identity."

"That which rises and falls is the transient "I."
That which has neither origin nor end, is the
permanent "I-I" consciousness."

"The world is not external. Because you
identify yourself wrongly with the body,
you see the world outside, and its pain
becomes apparent to you.
Therfore, look within.
See the Self."

".....the world and the pain are within
you. If you look deeply within, there
will be no pain."

"See the Self and Be the Self."

This very year some of your friends may have died. Is the world waiting without going on? Is its current stopped? No, it goes on. So drive out of your mind the idea that you have to do something for the world. The world does not require any help from you.
- Swami Vivekananda

Human body is meant to serve others, not to indulge in selfish deeds. Due to selfishness, one indulges in many sinful activities. Eschew selfishness, take to selfless service. Give up attachment to the body. Become attached to the Self. Understand that the same Atma (Self) exists in everybody. Though you find myriad bulbs glowing, the current that is passing through them is the same. Bodies are like bulbs, the principle of the Atma is the current that is present in them. With such a feeling of oneness, make efforts to alleviate the suffering of your fellowmen.
- BABA

"Substance and shadow are for the one
who sees only the shadow and mistakes
it for the substance. But there is neither
substance nor shadow for the one who
is aware only of the Reality."

"Anyway, there is nothing apart from
the Self. All are the same. None exist
apart from the Self. They are only in
the Self and remain as the Self.
Realization of the Self
is the one goal of all."

"A Higher Power is leading you.
The Higher Power knows
what to do and
how to do it.
Trust it." - Ramana Maharshi

Devotee: Does not education make a sage more useful to the world than illiteracy?

Bhagavan: Even a learned man must bow before the illiterate sage.
Illiteracy is ignorance: education is learned ignorance.
Both of them are ignorant of their true aim; whereas a sage is not ignorant
because there is no aim for him.

[A devotee asked Maharshi about some disagreeable
statements made by a certain man well-known to Maharshi]

"I permit him to do so. I have permitted him already. Let
him do so even more. Let others follow suit. Only let them
leave me alone. If because of these reports, no one comes
to me, I shall consider it a great service done to me.
Moreover, if he cares to publish books containing scandals
of me, and if he makes money by their sale, it is really good.
Such books will sell even more quickly and in larger numbers
than others. He is doing me a very good turn."

[Saying so, he laughed]

"Pride of learning, and desire for appreciation
are condemned, and not learning itself. Learning
leading to search for Truth and humility is good.

When you see God in all, do you think of God
or do you not?
Keeping God in your mind becomes dhyana, [meditation]
--the stage before Realization.
Realization is in the Self only.
Whether you make dhyana of God or of Self,
it is immaterial, the goal is the same.

If all are God, are you not included in that all?
Yourself being God, is it a wonder that all are God?

There must be a seer and thinker.....who is he?"

"What are you? You are not the body.
You are pure Consciousness.
Daily life and the world are only
phenomena appearing on that pure
Consciousness. It remains unaffected.
What prevents you from being your
own Self?
The Self is always there. It is you.
There is nothing but you. Nothing
can be apart from you.
The birth of the ego is called the
birth of the person. There is no
other kind of birth. Whatever is born
is bound to die. Kill the ego; there is
no fear of recurring death for what
is already dead.
The Self remains even after the death
of the ego.
That is Bliss--that is Immortality." - Ramana Maharshi

Realization is our nature. It is nothing new to be gained. What is new cannot be eternal. Therefore there is no need for doubting whether one could lose or gain the Self. - Ramana Maharshi

Freedom from all desire is eternity. All
attachment implies fear, for all things
are transient. And fear makes one a slave.
This freedom from attachment does not
come with practice; it is natural, when
one knows one's true being. Love does not
cling; clinging is not love.

- Nisargadatta Maharaj, from I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, posted to AlongTheWay

"The mind now sees itself
diversified as the universe.
If the diversity is not manifest
it remains in its own essence;
that is the Heart.
Entering the Heart
means remaining
without distractions.

The Heart is the only reality.
The mind is only a transient phase.
To remain as one's Self
is to enter the Heart.

If one remains,
as the Self;
there is Bliss."

Later, on a visitor's request, Bhagavan said, "Concentrating one's thoughts solely on the Self will lead to happiness or bliss. Drawing in the thoughts, restraining them and preventing them from going outwards is called vairagya. Fixing them in the Self is sadhana or abhyasa. Concentrating on the Heart is the same as concentrating on the Self. The Heart is another name for the Self." - Ramana Maharshi

"As oil stays in sesame seeds, as fire stays in wood, as butter stays in milk, and as fragrance stays in flowers, so I, the Supersoul, stay in the hearts of all living creatures." (Lord Visnu, - Vasudeva Upanisad)

"Know the doubter.
If the doubter be held, doubts will not arise.
Here the doubter is transcendental. Again,
when the doubter ceases to exist, there
will be no doubts arising.
From where could they arise?

All are Self-realized only they are not
aware of the fact. Doubts must be
uprooted. This means that the doubter
must be uprooted.
Here the doubter is the mind.

"Who am I?" is the investigation.
Investigate and the thoughts will cease.
That which IS, namely the Self, will
be revealed as the inescapable residue."

"Absence of thoughts does not mean a blank.
There must be one to know the blank. Knowledge
and ignorance are of the mind; they are born of
duality. But the Self is beyond knowledge and
ignorance. It is light itself. There is no need to
see the Self with another Self; there are no two
selves. What is not Self, is non-self. The non-self
cannot see the Self. The Self possesses no sight
or hearing.
It lies beyond these, --all alone,
as pure consciousness."

"Doubts will cease only when
an end is put to the non-self.
That will result in realization of
the Self.
There will remain no other there
to doubt or ask. All these doubts
should be resolved within oneself.
No amount of words will satisfy.
Hold the thinker. Only when the
thinker is not held do objects
appear outside or doubts arise
in the mind."

"So long as the body is considered,
birth is real. But the body is not 'I.'
The Self is not born nor does it die.
There is nothing new. The sages
see everything as being in and of
the Self; there is no diversity in it.
Therefore, there is neither birth
nor death."

"Find out the source of 'I.' " - Ramana Maharshi

One day when the doctor was dressing Bhagavan's arm, they chatted about taking photos. Bhagavan said, "In a pin- hole camera, when the hole is small, you see shapes and col- ours. When the hole is made big, the images disappear and one sees only clear light. Similarly when the mind is small and narrow, it is full of shapes and words. When it broadens, it sees pure light. When the box is destroyed altogether, only the light remains. - Ramana Maharshi

Again, why mourn the dead? They are free from bondage. Mourning is the chain forged by the mind to bind itself to the dead. -Ramana Bhagavan

Just like one who is (seemingly) listening to a story when (his) mind has (in fact) gone far away, the mind (of the Atmajnani or knower of self) in which the tendencies (vasanas) have been erased, has not (in fact) done (anything) even though it has (seemingly) done (many things). (On the other hand) the mind (of an ajnani or one who does not know Self) which is saturated with them (tendencies or vasanas),has (in fact) done (many things) even though it has (seemingly) not done (anything), (just like) one who (thinks) in dream (that he) has climbed a hill and is falling over a
precipice, even though (his body is in fact lying) here without movement (sleeping on his bed).

Therefore, since the states of activity, namely waking and dream, the state of absorption (nishta) and the state of sleep are all states which pertain only to the body and mind, they are not at all known to the Jnani, just as the moving, standing
and unyoked states of a cart are unknown to someone who is asleep in the cart.

But in the non-dual state of self-abidance, in which the ego or individuality has been destroyed, one does not experience any sense of otherness-that is, one does not feel any such distinction as ‘This is me, that is someone else’ –and hence if one is praised or disparaged by ‘others’ it is as if one is praised or disparaged by oneself. In other words,since the Jnani knows that He alone exist, His perfect
equanimity cannot be distrurbed even in the least by either praise or disparagement.

- Ramana Maharshi

Do understand that you are destined for enlightenment. Co-operate with your destiny,
don't go against it, don't thwart it. Allow it to fulfill itself. All you have to do is to give attention to the obstacles created by the foolish mind.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj

When you build a house, you build doors as well. These doors are meant to facilitate easy entry and departure of friends and relatives. Only those who are authorised to enter are allowed through these doors. The door is not meant for dogs and donkeys to come into the house. Similarly through the doors of the senses, we should usher in only sacred thoughts, feelings and ideas. The heart is the abode of God. The Lord cannot be enthroned in a heart fouled by evil thoughts, ideas and feelings. We should not allow either animal or demoniac qualities to enter into that sacred abode of Divinity. -Baba