Tattva

The Self
That in which all these worlds seem to exist steadily, that of which all these worlds are a possession, that from which all these worlds rise, that for which all these exist, that by which all these worlds come into existence and that which is indeed all these - that alone is the existing reality. Let us cherish that Self, which is the reality, in the Heart.

The essence of Sri Ramana’s teachings is conveyed in his frequent assertions that there is a single immanent reality, directly experienced by everyone, which is simultaneously the source, the substance and the real nature of everything that exists.

His Life
Sri Ramana Maharshi was born to a Tamil Hindu Brahmin family in Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu on December 30, 1879. After attaining liberation at the age of 16, he left home for Arunachala, a mountain considered sacred by Hindus, at Tiruvannamalai, and lived there for the rest of his life. Arunachala is located in Tamil Nadu, South India. Although born a Brahmin, after having attained moksha he declared himself an “Atiasrami,” a Sastraic state of unattachment to anything in life and beyond all caste restrictions.

Sri Ramana maintained that the purest form of his teachings was the powerful silence which radiated from his presence and quieted the minds of those attuned to it. He gave verbal teachings only for the benefit of those who could not understand his silence. His verbal teachings were said to flow from his direct experience of Consciousness as the only existing reality. When asked for advice, he recommended self-enquiry as the fastest path to moksha. Though his primary teaching is associated with Non-dualism, Advaita Vedanta, and Jnana yoga, he highly recommended Bhakti, and gave his approval to a variety of paths and practices.

The Single Immanent Reality
He gave it a number of different names, each one signifying a different aspect of the same indivisible reality. What follows is the explanation of the three terms that he frequently used.

1. The Self. This is his most used term. He defined it by saying that 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 he 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.

2. Sat-chit-ananda. This is a Sanskrit term which translates as being-consciousness-bliss. Sri Ramana taught that the Self is pure being, a subjective awareness of `I am’ which is completely devoid of the feeling `I am this’ or `I am that.’ There are no subjects or objects in the Self, there is only an awareness of being. Because this awareness is conscious it is also known as consciousness. The direct experience of this consciousness is, according to Sri Ramana, a state of unbroken happiness and so the term ananda or bliss is also used to describe it. These three aspects, being, consciousness and bliss, are experienced as a unitary whole and not as separate attributes of the Self. They are inseparable in the same way that wetness, transparency and liquidity are inseparable properties of water.

3. God. Sri Ramana maintained that the universe is sustained by the power of the Self. Since theists normally attribute this power to God he often used the word God as a synonym for the Self. He also used the words Brahman, the supreme being of Hinduism, and Siva, a Hindu name for God, in the same way. Sri Ramana’s God is not a personal God; he is the formless being which sustains the universe. He is not the creator of the universe, the universe is merely a manifestation of his inherent power; he is inseparable from it, but he is not affected by its appearance or its disappearance.

God in Quran
There is a wide spread notion that God means the same entity in all religions. Time has come to categorically state that it is not so. What follow are some verses from Chapter II of Quran which prove that the concept of God and His message is quite different in that book, if not contrarory to that of Maharishi Ramana.
161. Verily, those who disbelieve, and die while they are disbelievers, it is they on whom is the Curse of Allâh and of the angels and of mankind, combined.
162. They will abide therein (under the curse in Hell), their punishment will neither be lightened, nor will they be reprieved.
190. And fight in the Way of Allâh those who fight you, but transgress not the limits. Truly, Allâh likes not the transgressors. [This Verse is the first one that was revealed in connection with Jihâd, but it was supplemented by another (V.9:36)].
191. And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And Al-Fitnah is worse than killing. And fight not with them at Al-Masjid-al-Harâm (the sanctuary at Makkah), unless they (first) fight you there. But if they attack you, then kill them. Such is the recompense of the disbelievers.
192. But if they cease, then Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
193. And fight them until there is no more Fitnah (disbelief and worshipping of others along with Allâh) and (all and every kind of) worship is for Allâh (Alone). But if they cease, let there be no transgression except against Az-Zâlimûn (the polytheists, and wrong-doers, etc.)

Once such qualities are attributed to God and are imbibed by ignorant youths, events like killings in Mumbai on 26/11 follow. Somebody has to begin thinking of reformation of Islam by deleting such verses from Quran, however out of context they may be.

‘To be unselfish is every thing, most of all in love and friendship,’ says Goethe, ‘was my highest pleasure, my rule of life, my exercise.’ In the last part of the Ethics treating of ‘the way which leads to liberty’ Spinoza seems to have ascended beyond this village of affections to the level where amor and intellectus are one act. Here ‘the human mind knows itself and its body under the species of eternity, and thus far necessarily has knowledge of God and knows it exists in God and is conceived through God.’

Eighteenth Century German philosopher, Gotthold Lessing’s views on religion are not very different from that of Ramana Maharishi. The Philosopher thought of God as the inner spirit of reality, causing development and itself developing. This world will become peaceful and happy only when the humankind understands God or Self as Ramana Maharishi taught. He proclaimed, “The world is so unhappy because it is ignorant of the true Self. Man’s real nature is happiness. Happiness is inborn in the true Self. Man’s search for happiness is an unconscious search for his true Self.”

Colonel Mahendra Mathur prematurely retired from the Corps of Engineers of the Indian Army in 1975 to build a highway in Tobago. Subsequently he was appointed Director of National Emergency Management Agency of Trinidad and Tobago before retiring in 1998. You can contact him at mmathur@tstt.net.tt.

 Email This Post

 

This entry was posted on Sunday, February 1st, 2009 at 8:59 am and is filed under Hindu History. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.