SELF ENQUIRY

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" Those who leave the path of Self Enquiry, the way of

liberation, and wander off along the myriad forest tracks,

will encounter only confusion " . Bhagavan

 

Self Enquiry is the Direct Path and Bhagavan's great contribution for the modern

age for all.

 

Self Enquiry is the back bone the main weapon in Bhagavan's teaching for

eliminating the vasanas,

tendencies and vrittis, the thought forms which act as a veil and occlude your

Real Self.

 

Total Surrender will also achieve the goal, but this way is slower as in the

beginning we are only capable of partial Surrender. But continue to surrender

the Egotistic/Mind at the lotus feet of the Inner Guru, Bhagavan in the Heart

partially, and that will lead to total Surrender in due course.

 

To start Self Enquiry is not easy! We must have a great yearning and wish to

commence. Pray for grace in this respect.

 

It starts with the mind , turning inwards at 180 degrees and with all one's

powers of concentration probing inward, beneath the skin, to find the source of

the I Thought or ego.

 

Many find the right side of the chest is an effective doorway to enter the

interior and eventually the spiritual heart, where the source of the ego dwells.

 

The first aid is therefore to increase our power of concentration, without

thought interfering. Most concentration spans are about 4 minutes. One can

increase its power by practice. Gaze at a portrait of Bhagavan, or a candle or a

spot on the wall. For as long as you can until you increase the time markedly.

 

The next aid is study. One must read about Self Enquiry as Bhagavan taught it.

His two essays WHO AM I and SELF ENQUIRY are essential. They can be downloaded

from the Ashram site or read from Collected Works. Read them over and over again

until they have sunk in . They are not very long. Then one can read from the

index on Self Enquiry in Talks With Ramana Maharshi – which can also be

downloaded as can David Godman's Be As You Are which has three chapters in his

book on SELF .ENQUIRY,

 

THEN.FIND THE WAY THAT'S EASIEST FOR YOU!.

 

1.It could be holding the breath , to stop thought and diving into the heart to

find the source of the I thought, or just diving without holding the breath.

 

2.It could be questioning when thoughts or emotions arise, and asking " to whom

does this thought come- to me? " Then ask " who am I? " , with attention again

seeking for the source of the I thought.

 

3. It could be paying attention to The Self- Self attention- or paying attention

to awareness, being aware of one's awareness.

 

4. It could be holding onto the I thought or the feeling of the ego or me, with

attention, whenever it arises looking for it's source.

 

5.It could be tracing the source of your favourite Mantra.

 

6. It could be posing the question Who Am I then holding the breath, searching

for the egos source. On exhalation feel I am Not the Body'.

 

7.If all are too difficult, then just repeat I-I-I-I as a mantra. I is the Real

name of God said Bhagavan. It will eventually lead to the Self on which

attention may then be placed with practice.

 

Eventually with any of these methods one may notice a pulsation commencing on

the right side of the chest which indicates progress.

 

Perseverance, continued practice and great faith are needed.

 

Each time , you enquire it will gradually loosen identification with the mind

and body and start the loosening of the Granthi Knot which holds and maintains

identification with the `I am the body, notion.

 

Self Enquiry is linked to devotion, it must become emotional not only a practice

from head attention, then it is easier to get to the source of the I thought.

 

Read the beginning quote once again please.

 

 

Additional Notes by S.M. Rohan

 

1) One should have the urge to find the truth about his own existence. This

happens if one some how does not feel that one is the body. Self Enquiry comes

to one naturally if one has the intuitive feel that he is not the body or mind,

but some thing far beyond and great.

 

Sri Bhagavan was asked if intellectual understanding truth is necessary(Talk

596).

 

D.: Is an intellectual understanding of the Truth necessary?

 

M.: Yes. Otherwise why does not the person realise God or the Self at once,

i.e., as soon as he is told that God is all or the Self is all? That shows some

wavering on his part. He must argue with himself and gradually convince himself

of the Truth before his faith becomes firm.

 

For the practice of who Am `I' to take firm root, I felt that it is worth

putting forth the effort to understand our nature clearly, beyond doubt. Sri

Bhagavan's talks offer the best guidance for that. The following talks are

absolutely fascinating.

 

Talk 487: The `I' is neither the body nor the mind.

Talk 286: The `I' is not one with the body.

Talk 304: The consciousness in waking is same as in sleep.

Talk 314, 609: The `I' is pure in the transition state between sleep and waking

 

2)Sri Bhagavan in talk 502 says that the intellect is one of the main obstacles.

It is co extensive with the individuality and has to disappear for results to

follow. This recognition leads to surrender, and paves the way for smoother

enquiry.

 

3) Sri Bhagavan in talk 80 says that thoughts arise from the conscious self.

Apprehending it even vaguely helps the extinction of the ego.

 

4) Thoughts are spontaneous, superficial or analytical. The individuality of the

person is operative as the perceiver of the existence of thoughts and of their

sequence. This individuality is the ego, or as people say `I'. (Talk 25). The

ego( intellect) latches on to the analytical thoughts and is lost in them.

 

5) In the process of enquiry the intellect has to be merged in the ego and the

source of ego is sought. (Talk 618.) The urge of the intellect to latch on to

the thought stream (comprising of thoughts objects) is to be recognized. That

recognition develops into dispassion and detachment. One should develop an

understanding of the behavior of one's intellect. Then it is easier to pose the

enquiry, for whom is this thought? If the answer for `me' comes out of

attention, the feeling of `I' in the next question who am `I' is more intense.

There are no subject and object in this feeling of `I'. No one is feeling his

`I'. He and `I' are not separate. He is `I', always `I' and remains as `I' after

the question who am `I'. One has to recognize that after the question who am

`I', in the feeling of `I' there is no duality. It is indeed very important to

note this. One should not localize the feeling of

`I'. Also there is no inside or outside for `I'. Only when one thinks that he is

the body, he thinks `I' is inside.

 

6) Thus in the enquiry who am `I', the attention is continuously withdrawn from

mind and its thought forms and redirected to `I'. Attention is itself `I'.

 

7) The `I', purged of thoughts (pure ego) cannot remain in that state. Either it

has to associate itself with some form (thought) or sink into its source. But

intellect tries to feel if there is indeed happiness etc. Any urge of intellect

to move is the back door entry of ego. Noticing this urge and some times holding

the breath momentarily helps to quieten it. The intellect has to recognize that

any of its attempts will wean it away from its source. It is hard to express

precisely. Some times words sound strange and lead to interpretation.

 

8) Fixing the mind on one thing whether it is a spot in the body or any thing

else helps the mind to remain calm. It helps mind to get one pointed. But there

is the subject fixing attention on an object. If there is one to feel some thing

there is duality. This may take longer for the results. Mind's urge to hold on

to something is worth noticing. The purpose of enquiry is to lose duality,

whether thought based or object based (all objects are thoughts).

 

9) Sri Bhagavan in Talk 244 says that the consciousness within, purged of the

mind, is felt as God.