Ramana Maharshi - extracts

The following are extracts from Ramana Maharshi's book -
The Essential Teachings of Ramana Maharshi.

Consciousness:

Without consciousness, time and space do not exist; they appear within Consciousness but have no reality of there Own.

The Absolute Consciousness alone is our real nature.

Grace:

Grace is within you; Grace is the Self. Grace is not something to be acquired from others. If it is external, it is useless. All that is necessary is to know its existence in you. You are never out of its operation.

Grace is always present. You imagine it is something somewhere high in the sky, far away, and has to descend. It is really inside you, in your Heart, and the moment you effect subsidence or merger of the mind  into its Source, Grace rushes forth, sprouting as a spring within you.

The Mind:

The mind is nothing but the thought "I."

The mind cannot seek the mind. You ignore what is real and hold on to that which is unreal, then try to find what it is. You think you are the mind and, therefore, ask how it is to be controlled.

If the mind exists, it can be controlled, but it does not. Understand this truth by enquiry. Seek the real, the Self.

The Ego:

Reality is simply the loss of the ego. Destroy the ego by seeking its identity. Because the ego has no real existence, it will automatically vanish, and Reality will shine forth by itself in all its glory. This is the direct method.

All other methods retain the ego. In those paths so many doubts arise, and the eternal question remains to be tackled. But in this method the final question is the only one and is raised from the very beginnning.

Your duty is to Be, and not to be this or that,

"I Am That I Am" sums up the whole truth; the method is summarized in "Be Still."

Realisation:

The state we call Realisation is simply being one's self, not knowing anything or becoming anything.

If one has realised, one is that which alone is and which alone has always been. One cannot describe that state, but only be That. Of course, we loosely talk of Self-Realisation for want of a better term.

There are no stages in Realisation or degrees of Liberation. There are no levels of Reality; there are only levels of experience for the individual.

If anything can be gained that was not present before, it can also be lost, whereas the Absolute is eternal, here and now.

His presence is like a pure, transparent mirror. It reflects our image exactly as we are. It is we who play the several parts in life and reap the fruits of our actions. How is the mirror or the stand on which it is mounted affected? Nothing affects them, as they are mere supports.

All that is required to realise the Self is to Be Still. What can be easier than that?

Be as you really are.

It is not a matter of becoming but of Being. Remain aware of yourself and all else will be known.

Everything is predetermined. But one is always free not to identify oneself with the body and not to be affected by the pleasure and pain associated with its activities.

Your true nature is that of infinite spirit.

If one inquiries as to where in the body the thought "I" first arises, one would discover that it rises in the heart; that is the place of the mind's origin.

Unless one is happy, one cannot bestow happiness on others. Happiness is born of Peace and can reign only when there in so disturbance. Disturbance is due to thoughts, which arise in the mind. When the mind is absent there will be perfect Peace.

The ultimate truth is so simple; it is nothing more than being in one's natural, original state. Just be the Self, that is all.

Because people want something elaborate and mysterious, so many religions have come into existence. Only those who are mature can understand the matter in its naked simplicity.

There is neither past nor future; there is only the present. Yesterday was the present when you experienced it; tomorrow will also be the present when you experience it. Therefore, experience takes place only in the present, and beyond and apart from experience nothing exists.

The Essential Teachings of Ramana Maharshi -
Published by InnerDirections Publishing.
ISBN 1-878019-18-X
www. InnerDirections.org

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