Category Archives: Advaita and Yoga
Poonja-ji’s Instructions for Self-Realization
This was posted many years ago in 1999 on the HarshaSatsangh yahoo group by a disciple of Poonja-ji (also known as Papa-ji). Poonja-ji received instructions from Sri Ramana in the 1930s and considered himself a disciple of Ramana.
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Poonja-Ji, spoke the following words in the beginning of Satsang 26/11/1992.
OM. Let there be peace among all beings of the universe. Let there be peace. Let there be peace. Om shanti, shanti, shanti. Namaskar, namaskar.
Welcome.
Behold the inner flame, eternally ablaze within the cave of your own heart and in the hearts of all beings.
There are three prescribed methods for it:
Number 1: Absolute dedication to it.
Number 2: Complete abandonment of all the desires which you have hitherto opted for and which have not given you satisfaction.
Number 3: Enquiry into the nature of Self.
These are the three ways to know who you really are.
What is this shining in your own heart?
Call it Atman, call it enlightenment, call it freedom. Any one of these ways is quite enough. Without this you would not be attracted to it.
This is your own beauty, your own love, your own light.
Arunachala – On the Inner Path: Southwest Side
This posting is the second in a series in which I will show some of the experience of walking Arunachala’s ‘Inner Path.’
The first posting shows the start of the walk from Sri Ramanasramam.
This posting continues with the walk where the initial posting ended, from the path near the access point where Perumpakkam Road meets Bangalore Road. This is the place where many walkers enter onto the Inner Path. This part of the Inner Path goes by the path up to Aum Amma’s and Papaji’s caves, by the Sadhu Tank, and ends at the Arunachala Reforestation station.
Previous postings show areas that can be reached while on this part of the Inner Path. Postings about Papaji’s cave can be found here and here. Aum Amma cave is shown here. A posting about the ‘Holy Feet of God’, Tiruvadi, South of the Sadhu’s Tank, can be found here.
A map of Arunachala and the Outer Path is below. I have marked this map with a few landmarks we use, and with an approximate map of the first two sections of the Inner Path pradakshina (girivalam in Tamil) shown in this series.
The Southwest section of the path is in blue.
The path starts after you go through the stone ‘gate’ leaving the first section. There is a ditch you walk through on the other side where the path starts. If it is full of water, there is an alternate to the right.
Looking to Arunachala through the trees before we start walking on this section.
Most of these photos were taken on a Sunday, and there were a few other people walking the path, including an elderly Indian couple that have lived for the last 30 years in Saratoga California, near where I lived, and who have heard of my spiritual teacher, Nome.
Many times during the week we will not see another person walking the Inner Path.
The path start winding through an area where trees provide a canopy.
The path branches to the right here. Do no go straight here; you will go back to Bangalore road.
Arunachala, the peak enshrouded in clouds.
The path in gentle here, winding through trees towards the mountain.
Now the path has turned East. The tall trees on the right were planted I think 10 – 20 years ago. There were many of this kind of tree planted in this area, and on the Northeast side of the hill.
Winding through this countryside. The red and white paintings are trail markers painted on stones. These are found all the way around the mountain to mark the Inner Path. Following these one should not get lost – just keep Arunachala to your right and keep walking.
Now the path has turned back towards the mountain. It is more rocky here.
Carol walking ahead of me.
Arunachala from the Inner Path, clouds at the top.
Here is a marker for the path to Aum Amma’s and Papaji’s caves. Follow the path up the hill. Have good shoes, this is rocky and steep in parts.
Continuing along the Inner Path. Now Parvati Hill, the small hill on the East end of Arunachala, with its two small peaks, is visible.
Note the stones lining both sides of the path. These are common in this section of the path. You will see them in many of the photos.
Parvati Hill, looking of one of the several small lakes found in this section of the path. These are behind earth berms, and I think are intended to help bring water back into the underground water table. It is early monsoon season now, and there is some water in this tank, which has been dry for the summer months (starting in April).
Again Arunachala in the clouds. This is from the berm shown above. Part way up the mountain, on the left side of the photo, a big rock formation is visible. This is where Aum Amma’s and Papaji’s caves are found.
The path is pretty here, and lined with stones on both sides.
Now winding through more trees. When the sun is out, these trees are much appreciated. Any shade is welcome. White and red trail markers are visible in the distance.
Coming out of the trees, Parvati Hill is again visible.
Back into the trees.
Now to the right of the trail is a big rock. Often, in the tourist season, you will see groups, sitting on this rock.
Early in the morning, you also may see a Sadhu, meditating.
Walking through more trees.
And finally we come to the Sadhu’s tank. This tank is, I am told, spring fed. What I have seen is that it has water all through the year, while most other tanks will dry out.
It is early in the morning, and there are Sadhu’s bathing, washing their saffron cloths and spreading them out to dry.
On the other side of the tank, there is a picturesque masonry arch, and a falling-down building. This is where we saw the Sadhu bathing in the photo above.
Now we follow the path once more through some trees.
And we get to one of the Reforestation Project’s tree nurseries.
Here is another stone gate, which marks the end of this section on the Inner Path.
The next part of this series will start from here.
The Root of Self-Inquiry: By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar
Realized Sages such as Bhagavan Sri Ramana have indicated the experience or the state of the Self. It is what it is.
It is the Heart of Existence, and Existence It Self. Sri Ramana used to say that It is only Being.
You can call it what you like. Self, No-Self, Shunya, Reality. What difference can it make? The ultimate Reality cannot be named. It has no name. There is no one outside of Reality to give it a name.
Ancient sages taught that the core of our being is pure Sat-Chit-Ananda which roughly translates from Sanskrit as Existence, Knowledge/Consciousness, Bliss as One.
It is devoid of thought or doubt or conflict, but utterly complete and supreme over its domain, its domain being no other than It Self.
It is the Eternal Reality which is not conscious of anything separate from it, being Pure Consciousness Itself.
It is beyond happiness and despair, destiny and free will, and beyond time and space.
It is beyond the different paths, philosophies, religions and conceptions of the Divine. All of these concepts are play of the mind which sees differences everywhere.
People with much confidence speak of their way, their path, and their religion. People speak of their God, their insights, their Realization, etc. This is all fine.
Self-Inquiry starts when an aspirant sincerely inquires with intensity, Who is this “I” which conceptualizes all such things.
The root question in Self-Inquiry is “Who Am I?” That is the method taught by Sri Ramana Maharshi for reflective Self-Inquiry.
Real introversion of the mind can only take place when we look directly for the source of our very existence.
The feeling and sense of “I” or “Me” that everyone has naturally, is the clue to resolving the mystery of Existence.
Where does this sense of “I Am” comes from. Looking within and following this sense to its source leads to the Knowledge of the Self.
Namaste and love to all
Mic’s Visit to India and Meeting Poonja-ji
Dear Friends,
When the HarshaSatsangh yahoo group started in January 1999, about a hundred or so people joined in the first few months. Here is a post of introduction that came to the group from Mic about his going to India and meeting Poonja-ji (also known as Papa-ji). Poonja-ji visited Sri Ramana and considered Ramana his Sat-Guru.
I don’t know where Mic is now, but his letter has stayed with me over all these years and I wanted to share it with you. I have only made minor edits in his letter to retain the original flavor of Mic’s vital spirit that comes through his words.
Harsha
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Hello all,
A brief introduction. My name is Mic, though most of my friends here call me Mohan. Advaita found its way in my heart as my heart in the summer of 91.
While wandering India, by chance I encountered Sri Poonjaji, a disciple of Bhagavan Ramana Mahrishi. I stayed with Poonja-ji and the small gathering there for two months. It was a time of great joy, intensity, revelation, and incomprehensible silence.
I mostly recall the great stillness. The presence of this man, Poonja-ji. In this dirty town of swirling dust storms and buildings swimming in the heat before me.
At night candles cast a golden hue upon the Indian markets, dancing in the buzz of bicycle songs and branches of lush red lychees being sold on the dusty streets.
The silence. The torrential flow of humanity, pulsing through the hot polluted streets, watermelon stalls.
The astonishing passion of seekers at Poonja-ji’s house. It was like the sweetness of sugarcane juice. It was the end of seeking itself in the embrace of the always so.
Like many there with Poonja-ji, I had also walked other roads in my search.
I had come to India on a Buddhist yatra, with plans to finish the journey in a Thai monastery. Yet relaxing into this resplendent heart of being, the seeking and the struggle fell. The seeker and the story melted away as monsoon rains of India drenched me in joy.
And I finally saw the True heart of advaita, as my own.
Leaving India, with the blessings of the mountain, I felt almost drunk on the ringing clarity of these words from the Tripura Rahasya;
” Know yourself as Pure Consciousness, the unaffected witness of the phenomenal world.”
Integrating this with a world that demands commitment and authenticity, I meet with surrender and an open heart.
Some days I struggle, some days I sing. The devotion I feel to Shakti I know is but a reflection within consciousness of this love.
The silence.
And it is in this love I am earthed in freedom, and can play out my role in the theater of this world in peace.
Warm regards,
Mohan (Mic)
You, Yourself, are This Moment: By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar
Ultimately the mystery of existence is tied to the mystery of perception. What is it that we are truly able to perceive just as it really is, without interpretation? Whatever must be given interpretation is necessarily going to be distorted.
And yet there are moments in life which require no interpretation until they are remembered.
When two lovers meet there comes a moment of pure being without interpretation. It may be in a simple embrace. When a child is held by his mother, a similar moment arises for the child.
Such moments point to or indicate the possibility which is always alive in us. Self-Realization is simply that. It is infinity caught in the moment and the moment expanded to infinity.
Whether one is sipping tea, playing chess, in meditation, with friends, family, etc., that moment is always there. It is just You.
You, yourself, are this present moment. Here and now, you are free.
Speaking to Chitrabhanu-ji and Pramoda-ji: By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar
Dear Friends:
Last weekend, I had a phone conversation with my teacher Gurudev Chitrabhanu-ji and his wife Pramoda-ji. Both Gurudev Chitrabhanu-ji and Pramoda-ji are on the forefront spreading the message of Ahimsa and how the philosophy of nonviolence brings our focus on caring for all living life, human, animal, plant life, and the environment itself.
Speaking with Chitrabhanu-ji and his wife reminded me of the years I spent with my teacher at the Jain Meditation Center in NYC the late 1970s up to 1980-81.
I used to go to Jain Meditation Center to listen to Gurudev speak. Often, I would stay around after the lecture and listen to the questions asked of Gurudev. At the end, many people got in a line to ask Gurudev more personal questions. These questions typically focused on health issues, self-improvement, meditation methods, mantras, and at times psychic phenomena. Some of the questions seemed quite far out to me.
I was very young then and perhaps immature in some ways. I used to sit so closely to Gurudev that I could hear all the questions and answers from the people in the line who came up one by one. When someone tried to whisper the question, I leaned even closer to hear it. Once in a while, someone would give me the look. But I stayed very close so I could hear everything that Gurudev was saying. I felt as if every word of my teacher was a gem and that I did not want to miss a single thing. I did not really think about other people’s privacy. It was an open space in the hall so I felt it was not an issue. Gurudev always looked at me and smiled and never said anything either.
After the talk at the Meditation Center, I often walked Gurudev and Pramoda-ji back to their apartment. During that time, I was able to speak to my teacher freely and ask him any questions on meditation, yoga, chakras, mantras, etc. Gurudev was happy to accommodate and answer me. I learned much from what he said during those conversations and have written about some of the incidents. Those were fun times.
One time when I was walking with Gurudev, another of his students was with us. This person had serious questions about some dreams about dying that he had been having. I could not help but hear the conversation. In that particular case, however, Gurudev said to me in Hindi that he wanted me to run and get something from a store that was on the street and gave me some money. It was unusual because Gurudev and I typically spoke in English (with some sprinkling of Hindi) and he had never sent me on an errand during our walk.
I quickly surmised that Gurudev wanted privacy for this conversation. Of course, I ran to the store to get the food item and then caught up with Gurudev and the other person as they had gone a block ahead of me. By that time, they were done talking and the student was leaving. After that, Gurudev and I walked rest of the way back to Gurudev’s apartment. I bowed to my teacher and said my Namaste and walked back to the place where I could catch the subway to go home.
In those days I was completely immersed in yoga and meditation. In fact, I made my living teaching yoga at the New York Health and Racquet club in NYC in Midtown Manhattan. Many of the famous actors, actresses, newscasters, and politicians of the 1970s who worked nearbye came to that club.
I remember Mary Tyler Moore, Hope Lange, Gracie Jones, Bella Abzug, Tom Brokaw, and some people from Saturday Night Live coming to the club. There were many others but my memory has now faded. I remember Mary Tyler Moore came to my Yoga class a couple of times. She was very respectful, it seemed to me, of Eastern philosophies and yoga. Hope Lange used to be there often during the time that I was there and she was very unassuming and congenial. I also remember Congress Woman Bella Abzug come to the club. She had a relaxed wonderful style and was easy to talk to. She seemed genuinely interested in yoga and a few times we spoke about reincarnation. She must have known Shirly MacLaine because I recall Bella mentioning her in the context of our conversations on reincarnation. This was all back in 1978-1980 time range.
Most of my free time when I was not teaching yoga at the New York Health and Racquet Club, I spent in contemplation and meditation at my house which I shared with other meditators who were also students of my teacher.
Coming back to my conversation last weekend, I spoke to Pramoda-ji first and we had a nice talk. She will be sending me some articles that she has written to be published on the Luthar.com website. In fact, I have already published one. I will have the webmaster upload another one soon. Pramoda-ji is the President of the Jain International Meditation Center in Mumbai (Bombay). She is also on the on the Board of Directors for PETA in India (People For Ethical Treatments of Animals). She works for the Reverence for Life Society and for Beauty without Cruelty which promote animal welfare and the vegetarian way of life worldwide. Promada-ji has also authored a number of books – Foods of Earth; Tastes of Heaven – Jain Symbols – To Light One Candle (co-authored with Clare Rosenfield) – The Book of Compassion (coauthored with Pravin K. Shah). More on Pramoda-ji can be found on the Jain Meditation website.
http://www.jainmeditation.org/pages/pramoda.html
I had a wonderful talk with Gurudev Chitrabhanu after I spoke to Pramoda-ji. His voice was relaxed and fresh and just as I remember it all the past times that I have spoken to him. He told me that Clare Rosenfield and her husband were there visiting them at the time. Gurudev knows the closeness I feel with the Sage of Arunachala, Sri Ramana Maharshi. He mentioned his visit to Sri Ramana when he was 19 years old. That was one year before he became a Jain Monk.
During the conversation, Gurudev Chitrabhanu recited some poetry in Hindi to me and then explained it as well several times in different ways. The essence of the poem was that the real meeting is the meeting of the minds and the body only serves as the context. His message was that whether I am able to be in someone’s physical presence is not important but it is the meeting of the minds and the Heart connection that is the most central. Sri Ramana has said exactly the same thing in one of his conversations.
Gurudev will be leaving for India soon. I will be communicating with Chitrabhanu-ji and Pramoda-ji again in the near future. Mamata-ji, Chitrabhanu-ji’s secretary, has done a wonderful job of keeping us all informed of all the different international events taking place with Gurudev and Pramoda-ji playing a leadership role.
Harsha
Aids To Self Enquiry: By Alan Jacobs
“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 Ramana.
Self Enquiry is the Direct Path and Bhagavan’s great contribution for the modern age for all.
Self Enquiry is the backbone of 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. Continue reading
Arunachala – On the Inner Path: Southside from Ramanasramam: By Richard Clarke
This posting is the first in a series in which I will try to show some of the experience of walking Arunachala’s ‘Inner Path.’ The Inner Path is a pradakshina path that has been maintained by various volunteers for many years. This path is close to the Holy Hill, much less traveled, and many find it to be the most quiet and peaceful way to walk around the mountain.
To give a good sense of the Inner Path, there will be a number of postings, one for each of what I see as ‘sections’ of the path. For many of these sections I will have one or more postings of what we have found near the path. I will call these postings, “Off the Path.” I think this provides a good framework to show you what we are finding as we continue to explore Arunachala.
This first posting covers the path from Sri Ramanasramam to the location near where Perumpakkam Road meets Bangalore Road, and there is a popular walkway from the road to the Inner Path.
This is shown in the map view below, marked in green:
Starting from Sri Ramanasramam
Arunachala from Ramanasramam
The to back gate
Through the gate
Starting up the Path
First, a few steps from the start of the path. Often there are one or two ‘mountain guides’ sitting here who can be engaged to assist newcomers and make sure they can find their destinations.
We started out this day about 7:15 AM, and none were there yet.
Up the path
Take the left branch of the path here.
Starting on the Inner Path
Looking up the hill.
Looking away from the mountain. Here we are looking west from the path. A small hill can be seen. This hill is off Bangalore Road, before the turnoff to Girivalam (“Hill-Round”) Road.
Following the path.
Looking up at the hill, the first view of the peak.
Ahead is one of the ‘arms’ of Arunachala. In the map above, you can see this to the left of Ramanasramam, jutting out from the mountain. This arm is one of the main landmarks of this part of the path.
Trail markers line the path so walkers can be sure they stay on the path. These markers remind me of the fire in the cauldron at the top of Arunachala each year at Deepam.
The peak is more visible now.
Walking the path.
This type of cactus is found in many places around Arunachala. They remind me just how hot the weather is here most of the year. This cactus is about eight feet high.
There is a stone wall. Cross it and turn left, down the hill.
We turned right once, to explore a rock formation up the hill here. We found a tribe of Langur Monkeys up the hill. As we approached, the young monkeys and their mothers scampered higher up the hill. The king of the tribe held his ground, and as we approached bared his fangs several times. We “pranamed” him to show that we do not want to give him any trouble, and we turned around.
A bit more about these monkeys can be found at this link to ArunachalaGrace.blogspot.
We come to a stream, with a water catchment basin. Both are dry now. Sometimes you will see people sitting here.
Onward on the path.
Arunachala from this location.
Carol and Richard, with Arunachala as backdrop.
We follow the path along the stream. Bear left. The right fork is a shortcut. I will show this in a later posting.
Following the path.
The streambed is to the right.
Another view of Arunachala …
And we keep walking the path.
We are approaching the area where one of the major Arunachala Reforestation efforts operates from. Here we get the first view of the Museum/Visitors Centre at the Mountain of Medicine, currently under construction.
Here is a close up.
And another view.
Walking through the area, you can see all the seedlings being grown up to planting size.
And workers.
The gate out, to Bangalore Road, and the Children’s Park.
Govind, the Westerner that is behind all this good work.
Arunachala, from the Mountain of Medicine.
Leaving the Mountain of Medicine, to continue on the path.
To find our more about this wonderful effort, view this posting by David Godman.
One of many paintings on rock slabs of local birds and animals.
Back on the path.
Looking towards the Hill.
Looking towards the street. Here a housing development can be seen.
Tree planting, recently done.
Views of Arunachala.
More holes are dug, waiting for rains before doing more planting.
The view away from the mountain. If you do a close-up of this hill, you will see an ancient altar at the top.
One last look at Arunachala. Notice in the foreground another of the types of cactus that are to be found around the mountain.
Then the gate that marks the end of this section of the Inner Path.
Looking out to the road.
Looking forward to the next section of the Inner Path.
Ramana Corona: By Alan Jacobs
In this sequence of sonnets are laid out the basic tenets of Sri Ramana’s teachings.
This was previously published in The Mountain Path.
RAMANA CORONA
All beings yearn to be happy, always;
Happiness without a tinge of sorrow,
To enjoy a life of carefree days,
Taking no burden of thought for tomorrow.
When restless mind’s at peace in deep sleep,
What glimpse of worry, grief or despair?
So happiness lies therein, buried down deep.
How to find this treasure, awake, aware?
Ask the question, who am I, and from where?
That’s the essential means of the holy task,
Ending ego’s ‘me’ and ‘my’, that’s there.
No pleasure endures in things of this Earth,
Enquire within, who basks behind our mask?
To regain that Selfhood we lost at birth.
To regain that Selfhood we lost at birth,
First consider well the cinema screen,
To understand that, gains merit and worth.
On the screen there appears a tense drama,
The film begins and we enjoy the show.
Fire, flood, sex, death, a vast panorama;
The screen’s unchanging, but the film’s a shadow.
The simile teaches, strange as it may be,
That both seer and seen make up the mind.
On Consciousness as screen, all action’s based.
To know that is true, is the clue to be free,
A guiding beacon that’s so rare to find.
That’s the Sage wisdom by which we are graced.
That’s the Sage wisdom by which we are graced,
We’re taught the silver screen as a metaphor.
Seated in theatre stalls, now we are placed,
To proceed with clarity and enquire some more.
The bright theatre lamp is the light supreme,
Illuminating both actors and the scene.
We see stage and the play only by light,
Yet when action ends, the lamp remains bright.
Just as woven cloth and its colour white
Are never, ever perceived as apart,
So when mind and light both unite,
They form ego, knotted and bound in the heart.
Of all that we’ve ever learned since birth,
That’s the high wisdom proclaimed on Earth.
That’s the high wisdom proclaimed on Earth,
How to make mind to merge in its source?
Only by enquiring with all of one’s force,
The central question regarding its birth,
The ultimate scrutiny of “Who Am I”?
As thoughts froth forth like waves on the ocean,
They’ll all be slain by such introspection,
Unveiling the Self, the lost inward eye.
Pearls lay buried on the deep ocean floor,
Attracting divers to search for this goal.
Holding their breath they plunge to the core
Of the ocean bed, for the pearl oyster’s soul.
To gain this gem in the heart’s sacred place,
Just seek for the source where mind is based.
Just seek for the source where mind is based.
You travel alone on a mystery train;
By this metaphor we’re comfortably placed,
To travel by providence free from pain.
So put all your heavy luggage on the rack,
Only a fool carries it on his head!
Be glad, accept the predestined track,
Rest quietly, safe at home on your bed!
Surrender in joyful jubilation!
Surrender utterly to God’s almighty will,
Surrender with total resignation,
Surrender knowing all will be well,
Surrender whole heartedly with one accord,
Take safe refuge in the all loving Lord!
Take safe refuge in the all loving Lord!
For life’s a dream and sleeping dreams are short,
The waking dream is long; both stem from thought.
The Real is beyond both this waking and sleep.
The sword of enquiry slays dream states deep,
So reaching their substratum, numinous,
The state of pure consciousness, Self luminous!
Blissfully aware, yet awake in sleep.
As the cockerel crows ready to sup,
At the roseate dawn of first morning light,
Awareness pours into the near empty cup,
Granting a moment’s taste of Self insight.
This light is the eye that forever sees,
Who can be known by enquiring “who frees?”
Who can be known by enquiring “who frees?”
The Master who lives in the cave of the heart,
Not separate from one’s Self, being the start,
Of the final search from bond to release.
The Sage appears when the soul is ready,
With strong gaze of grace he says “be aware
That God and his wisdom are already there!”
He acts as a brake to make the mind steady,
While mercy flows freely in sunshine and air,
Hindered only by our being unready.
If you come to him, meekly with an empty cup,
His grace is then bound to fill it up.
The Master’s glance is the grace of the Lord,
He cuts you free with his mighty sword.
He cuts you free with his mighty sword,
To guide you surely, on the upward way
To Self Realisation, your real birthday!
Consummation of “That” the Sage’s word,
Is “rest in the Self,” which is always heard.
In him, place great trust and affirm, say yea
As certainty! Our Real Self blazes away,
Ever surrendered to the almighty Lord,
Revealing great peace for Realisation’s sake,
Renouncing belief that a rope is a snake.
The seeker surely becomes “the great find”,
His own blissful being, the summit in kind,
This great Teaching eternally frees,
One with the Self, as the Absolute sees.
One with the Self, as the Absolute sees,
He answers all our prayers and our pleas;
We must first enter that dear sacred part,
Not the fleshy pump that throbs on the left,
But the sacred core: by being skilful and deft,
We find that on the right; is the real Heart!
By harnessing breath, being adept and bright,
We dive with great skill and all of our might,.
There dwelling in depths of our true Heart’s cave,
Lives the shining ”Unity” blazing as Self,
Pulsation of I-I, where all shadows cease.
So fixing gaze there, finally, off we stave,
Perverted, wandering, demonic mind elf,
Returning to “Self”, our birthright of peace.
Returning to “Self”, our birthright of peace,
Is knowing that all this vile body performs
Was predestined before it ever took form.
So from stress, despair and fretting, pray cease!
Our freedom dwells in our natural State,
Renouncing the “ Am The Doer” notion,
Detached from fruit of form’s puppet motion,
Yet grace can avert even predestined fate!
Be like a skilled actor on this stage of strife!
Play with goodwill the part you’ve been given,
No matter how strangely you find you are driven,
Knowing who, truly you are, in this life.
Until fate pulls down the final curtain,
Know you’re Self not body, know that is certain!
Know you’re Self not body, know that is certain!
In this Realisation, there’s no cause to leave home,
You can strive in the city, there’s no need to roam.
To change style of life would all be in vain,
For mind remains with you, until it is slain.
Demonic ghost ego, source and fabric of thought
Create body and world, whereby we are caught.
Change of place, never changed the way we behave,
Whether living at home, in a forest or cave.
There are two ways by which our bonds may be freed:
Either ask “to whom is this strange fate decreed?”
Or surrender false ‘me’ to be then stricken down,
So praying intensely for ‘my will’ to cease,
We leave it to grace, to grant us release.
We leave it to grace, to grant us release.
God will do this through the gaze of his Sage,
He sends down His messenger for every age,
To those who yearn and pray for great peace.
The Realised Sage lives on here and now,
Without confusing the Self with the mind.
Humble, compassionate, loving and kind,
Wisely profound, as his way clearly shows.
He steers the vessel of firm devotees,
Fulfilling everyone’s spiritual need.
In deep silence, he sits, with perfect ease,
To awaken those, whom his teaching well heed.
Graciously, his great glance of initiation,
Drives the mind inwards, to Self Realisation!
Driving the mind inwards, to Self Realisation,
He grants safe passage through life’s stormy ocean;
What frail soul will ever be excluded
From the presence of the holy Supreme?
No matter how depraved or deluded,
His mercy never ends, and will always redeem,
Raising the soul from the depth of depression,
To free one from the ‘I am this body’ obsession.
From passions that churn desire and aversion,
His fair breeze wafts clear equanimity;
Enmeshed no more in worldly adversity,
Never perturbed by praise nor foul enmity,
We learn that there’s the greatest giving
In knowing all are Self, and so truly living.
In knowing all are Self, and so truly living,
We thank the great Sage who is ever giving.
We praise the Lord, who leads us to his feet,
His gracious gaze is eternally sweet,
Without ceasing, he’s forever reviving,
He grants that freedom, our real surviving.
He severs the grip of bondage’s chains,
He frees the soul, where confusion reigns,
He bestows both compassion and deep peace,
He sends out his grace to grant us release.
He teaches the truth that Consciousness is all,
And Self Enquiry to raise us up from our fall.
We praise God Almighty whom is ever living,
This crown of my verses is our thanksgiving!
To regain that Selfhood we lost from birth,
That’s the Sage wisdom by which we are graced,
This is the high wisdom proclaimed on Earth.
Just seek for the source where mind is based.
Take refuge in the all loving Lord,
Who can be known by enquiring ‘who frees?’
He cuts you loose with his mighty sword,
One with the Self, as the Absolute sees.
Returning to Self, our birthright of peace,
Know you’re Self, not body, know that is certain!
We leave it to grace, to grant us release.
He drives the mind inwards, to Self Realisation,
In knowing all are Self, and so truly living,
This crown of my verses is our thanksgiving!
![clip_image001[4]](https://luthar.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/clip-image0014.jpg)
Life is a pure flame, and we live
by an invisible Sun within us.
Alan Jacobs is Chairman of the Ramana Maharshi Foundation UK , and author of The Bhagavad Gita a Poetic Transcreation and The Principal Upanishads A Poetic Transcreation.
This article published with permission from The Mountain Path.
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