SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI AND SELF-INQUIRY
Sri Ramana's teachings about Self-Inquiry, the practice he is most widely associated with, have been classified as the path of knowledge (jnana marga). Though his teaching is consistent with and generally associated with Hinduism, the Upanishads, and Advaita Vedanta, he gave his approval to a variety of paths and practices from various religions.
Although he advocated Self-Inquiry as the fastest means to realization, he also recommended the path of bhakti (devotion) and self-surrender, that is, to one's deity or guru, either concurrently or as an adequate alternative to Self-Inquiry, which would ultimately converge with the path of Self-Inquiry.
What is Self-Inquiry? It is a method for recognizing not the body and/or the mind but that which experiences the body and the mind. It is awareness, that awareness that is aware of itself, the unlimited, free, Self (Atman).
Sri Ramana's method of teaching was characterized by the following:
1.He urged people who came to him to practice Self-Inquiry.
2.He directed people to look inward rather than seeking outside themselves for realization. ("The true bhagavan, that is, the supreme one, Brahman, resides in your heart as your true Self or Atman. This is who you truly are.")
3.He viewed all who came to him as the Self rather than as lesser beings. ("The jnani, that is, a self-realized person, sees no one as an ajnani, or a not self-realized person. All are only jnanis in his sight.")
Sri Ramana charged no money and was adamant that no one ever ask for money (or anything else) in his name. He never promoted or called attention to himself. Instead, he remained in one place for 54 years, offering spiritual guidance to anyone of any background who came to him, and asking nothing in return. He considered humility to be the highest quality. He said the deep sense of peace one felt around a jnani was the surest indicator of a jnani's spiritual state, that equality towards all was a true sign of liberation, and that what a true jnani did was always for others, not for themselves.
Although he advocated Self-Inquiry as the fastest means to realization, he also recommended the path of bhakti (devotion) and self-surrender, that is, to one's deity or guru, either concurrently or as an adequate alternative to Self-Inquiry, which would ultimately converge with the path of Self-Inquiry.
What is Self-Inquiry? It is a method for recognizing not the body and/or the mind but that which experiences the body and the mind. It is awareness, that awareness that is aware of itself, the unlimited, free, Self (Atman).
Sri Ramana's method of teaching was characterized by the following:
1.He urged people who came to him to practice Self-Inquiry.
2.He directed people to look inward rather than seeking outside themselves for realization. ("The true bhagavan, that is, the supreme one, Brahman, resides in your heart as your true Self or Atman. This is who you truly are.")
3.He viewed all who came to him as the Self rather than as lesser beings. ("The jnani, that is, a self-realized person, sees no one as an ajnani, or a not self-realized person. All are only jnanis in his sight.")
Sri Ramana charged no money and was adamant that no one ever ask for money (or anything else) in his name. He never promoted or called attention to himself. Instead, he remained in one place for 54 years, offering spiritual guidance to anyone of any background who came to him, and asking nothing in return. He considered humility to be the highest quality. He said the deep sense of peace one felt around a jnani was the surest indicator of a jnani's spiritual state, that equality towards all was a true sign of liberation, and that what a true jnani did was always for others, not for themselves.
posted by Donald L. Simons at
2:05 PM
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