Harsha's avatar

Thoughts Change But Not You ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

Thoughts change but not you
Photo art from John Wassenberg’s fb page.

Sri Ramana Maharshi says in Talk 524 (Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi), “You must exist in order that you may think. You may think these thoughts or other thoughts. The thoughts change but not you. Let go the passing thoughts and hold on to the unchanging Self. The thoughts form your bondage. If they are given up, there is release. The bondage is not external.”

Devotee says: But it is not easy to remain without thinking.

Sri Ramana replies: You need not cease thinking. Only think of the root of the thoughts; seek it and find it. The Self shines by itself. When that is found the thoughts cease of their own accord. That is freedom from bondage (Talk 524).

Bhagavan Ramana teaches that any thing that appears and disappears is not you. That which remains always, is you. The Advaitic system of Neti, Neti (not this, not this) is based on that. The aspirant analyzes everything that he or she perceives and says, “I am not the body, I am not the senses, I am not the mind, etc. Whatever can be perceived is not me as I am the one perceiving it.”

Continuing to reflect on this and doing Neti, Neti, (I am not this, I am not this), finally, that subjective pure awareness remains which cannot be denied. The Subject cannot deny It Self. Hence Advaita Vedanta declares that when you firmly reach the pure Subject which is only Awareness, you should abide in that. That You Are. Thou Art That. That I AM!

Harsha's avatar

All My Bags Are Gone: By Latha Ramanan

Harsha's avatarLuthar.com

Began the journey from the foothills
There were twists and unknown turns to take
Rough and narrow paths, unfamiliar terrains to cross

View original post 84 more words

Harsha's avatar

The Ordinary Mind Is The Buddha Mind: By Harsh K. Luthar, Ph.D.

Harsha's avatarLuthar.com

Thayumanavar
Photo art found on John Wassenberg’s FB page.

As long as you are looking for and relying on saviours, buddhas, bodhisattvas, gods, gurus, and supermen, you will find it hard to stay with your ordinary everyday consciousness. It appears so fragile, unstable, conflicted, wretched, and filled with self-serving needs. It is no wonder that people get on the spiritual path and seek salvation and wish to run away from where they are and who they are.

View original post 848 more words

Harsha's avatar

Sri Ramana and My Teacher Gurudev Sri Chitrabhanu-Ji: By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

My Teacher and Sri Ramana

Harsha's avatarLuthar.com

All of us come from different backgrounds, and we walk the path in our own unique way. Yet, we all have the same innermost longing to know the deepest mystery of our own nature and being. Reflecting on the purest teachings of the Self and on the nature of Ahimsa as nonmovement of the mind, we are bound to have experiences and openings in our consciousness.

When my teacher, Gurudev Sri Chitrabhanu-ji visited Sri Ramana, he was just a teenager. Chitrabhanu-Ji became a Jain monk in 1942 at the age of 20. Prior to that, he was searching and visiting different saints in the various traditions of India and asking them questions about the spiritual path and how to become Self-Realized.

Gurudev Sri Chitrabhanu

Chitrabhanu-Ji told me that of all the saints and sages he visited in India in his teen years, a few were unforgettable and stood out to…

View original post 1,123 more words

Harsha's avatar

You know that you know nothing ~ Sri Ramana

10425179_10201913675403924_8444820306556169209_n

“You know that you know nothing. Find out that knowledge. that is liberation (mukti)” ~ Bhagavan speaking in Talk 12 (Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi).

A man had asked the Maharshi to say something to him. When asked what he wanted to know, he said that he knew nothing and wanted to hear something from the Maharshi. Bhagavan gave the response above. (See Talk 12).

Bhagavan used to say that the only direct knowledge we have is that “I Exist”. All other knowledge is via inference. Hence the Self-Inquiry, “Who Am I?” was advised by Bhagavan as the primary spiritual practice.

Continue reading

Harsha's avatar

People of intelligence examine their own mind! ~ Sri Ramana

People of intelligence examine their own minds

This quote can be found in the “Letters from Ramanasramam” ~13th August, 1946. In this simple comment made in the conversation, Bhagavan teaches us that intelligent and reflective aspirants focus their energy in scanning their own mind and consciousness. It is only by carefully examining the mind, one realizes the ultimate nature of perception.

Continue reading

Harsha's avatar

LIFE IS A DREAM: By Alan Jacobs

Bhagavan's smile

Bhagavan’s smile

“To know that the world is a dreamlike illusion. Know that all of the following are a dreamlike illusion. The world, the body, the universe, all dimensions, time and all events, motions and actions”. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

215. “The world appears distinctly only in wakefulness and dream with concepts filled. In concept-free, all empty sleep, one sees no world; so then conceptual is… the world’s whole substance.”

Taken from Step Two of The Seven Steps to Awakening. All of the Ramana quotes in The Seven Steps to Awakening are taken from K. Swaminathan’s English translation of The Garland of Guru’s Sayings.

Continue reading

Harsha's avatar

Sunday Homespun Wisdom-1: By Dr. Harsh K. Luthar

Live Gently and Embrace Friendship - Sunday Wisdom from HKL

Harsha's avatar

Summer 2014 Trip to the NY Arunachala Ashram for Guru Purnima – Part 2

c_clo_08

Guru Purnima was celebrated in friendship and joy among Bhagavan Ramana devotees on Sunday, July 13 at the NY Arunachala Ashram. A large gathering of devotees attended the puja. By late afternoon, when the main Pooja was ending, many devotees had arrived for the dinner/prasad.

Here are some pictures of devotees on the day of Guru Purnima conversing joyfully and eating. The times given on the pictures are approximately one hour ahead. The ordering of the pictures is from later in the day with everyone eating prasad at the end of puja to earlier in the day with people having breakfast at the start of Guru Purnima.

Continue reading

Harsha's avatar

Summer 2014 Trip to the NY Arunachala Ashram for Guru Purnima – Part 1

Seeking Satsang with other Bhagavan Ramana devotees, on July 12, my daughter and I arrived at the Arunachala Ashram in Jamaica, NY, for Guru Purnima scheduled for Sunday, July 13.

Bhagavan Shrine at the NY Arunachala Ashram

We had visited the Arunachala Ashram in Nova Scotia, Canada, in the summer of 2013 and had very fond memories of that. We soon met and were greeted by some of the residents of the Ashram including Margo-ji, Ran-ji, Bandhu-ji, and Dennis-ji.

SRI DENNIS-JI

DENNIS-JI STANDING WITH MIRA-JI

Continue reading