Friday, August 25, 2017

NMT (No-Me Teaching) 81
Some disciple of Ramana Maharshi quotes:

Thoughts are the enemy of happiness !  Happiness reigns when thoughts subside! In fact, thoughts are the veil that covers over the happiness; when this veil is removed, happiness is revealed.

Where thoughts cease, happiness reigns supreme; such is the truth about happiness.  Although the thought-free state is gained & happiness is experienced for a while, such a thought-free state obtained by contact with external objects does not last long.  Therefore, it is clear that one can never achieve the thought-free happy state permanently with the help of the 5 senses.

Whatever doubt may rise, it cannot rise without the rising of you the first to have risen — who raised it. Therefore the primal doubt, namely that of not knowing who you are, is the root of all doubts !

Until this primal doubt is cleared, replying to your other doubts will be just like cutting the leaves off the branches of a tree, because they will sprout again & again !  But if the root is cut, they will not sprout again !

As the gracious light of inner realization entered my heart, all knowledge acquired through learning was exposed as merely a creation of the mind & as it fell away, my consciousness — free of attributes, shining in its natural state of attachment to the Self, that shines without attachment to anything — gained its final victory as the consciousness that is absolute & all-embracing. 

Based on the Teachings of a great Sage:

The particular nature of a Sensation is determined by the receiving organ, & not by the stimulus. Appearance as such is nothing more than the Senses.  Sensing & Sense-objects are one with Sensory Perception. 

Reality is defined as that which transcends change. The immutable Reality is the Self, the Self being that single Consciousness in which the many & various aspects of objective experience come & go.  Now it is true that our Sensations are the mere masks & symbols of Reality.

We cannot have an objective knowledge of Reality, which for us is identical with Non-Duality. The Notion of a World arises despite the fact that Objects as such are not perceived.  Objects exist only as Notions, that is to say, they exist when they are thought of & not otherwise. Now we cannot have more than a single thought at a time, although the rapidity with which thoughts succeed one another makes plain men believe the contrary.  It follows that the simultaneous existence of objects is an impossibility. But we remember our past notions & it is Memory therefore that makes us believe in the coexistence of objects.

The illusion of the simultaneous & independent existence of objects arises from the idea that we can cognize several objects simultaneously.  This is one of the many erroneous habits of thought that becloud our understanding.  Such habits will be found to play an important part, as does the nature of Memory.

We give objective experience to the notion of a World.  In this connection, Abstract thought & generalization pertain.  The notion of a World is a generalization & nothing more. Sensations are Words of a Sensory Language.  When there is no objectification of Consciousness, when in other words there is no Sensory Perception, what seemed to be an Object loses both its Sensory & intellectual attributes, remaining as the principle of Consciousness in which the Object seemed to appear.  

It cannot then be called an Object; nor in reality, was there ever one, for in itself it transcended Name & Form.  When a something is cognized, something is present.  When a something is cognized, a something does certainly exist, but not as it appears. For the appearance is determined solely by the perceiver & not by the thing in itself.  

Some more selected verses from the Ramana Maharshi disciple Master Nome:

[about the Body & about “activity”]

Become more & more certain of how you are not the Body. The whole question of being active or inactive thus dis­appears. The activity & inactivity are only for the Body. They are never for your real Self. Become more & more certain of how you are not the Body, & it will make no difference whether you are having just a little twitch during a seated Medi­tation, which you regard as still, or your limbs are very active, busy doing whatever they are doing. It is a matter of Knowledge of your Identity.

[about Identity]

When you Discern in the process of Self-Inquiry to know the Self; 3 things happen. First, you clear up the question of where Happiness is. Happiness returns to its origin. Secondly, you clear up this question of Identity. This sense of Identity returns to its origin. &  thirdly, you clear up the question of Reality, & the sense of Reality returns to its origin. When Happiness, Identity & Reality coincide within, your Knowledge is firm.

[about Detachment]

For what reason do you become attached to something? It is only because you think that there is Happiness in it. &  of course, you think that it is Real & that it has some connection with you. Usually, you think that it will endure, as well [instead of temporary as with all things]. Meditation on the Transience of objects tends to make one Detached. One is attached to something only because one is mixing up the Immortality of his own nature with the object. One thinks it will endure. As soon as one thinks about how it will not continue, Detachment begins.

Even more so, Detachment from objects comes about when one discerns where Happiness is & no longer thinks something else is going to give Happiness to him. As long as one thinks that objects, situations, & other people, or the relations with them, are going to give him his own, innate Happiness, one remains attached. When one feels that there is no Happiness in them, such are not going to give the Happiness to him, he becomes quite naturally Detached.

When one acts upon that Detachment, it is called Renunciation. Renunciation is an expression, & sometimes a con­firmation, for yourself, concerning the Detachment that has been born within. In the course of practice, everyone renounces to some degree. It depends on the seeker, though, which particular objects or things are renounced. It is not reasonable to assume that, when you become Detached from all things due to Dis­crimination, you will go on acting in the identical fashion as you did when you were in the utter darkness of Ignorance. Those activities & those objects that you associated with due to Igno­rance will be renounced. Those that were neutral, or even help­ful or beneficial to your spirituality, may remain.

If you see the Transience in Life, you become Detached. If you contemplate deeply the question about what is Happiness & what not, you become more Detached. If you see that all things are a Dream of your own mind, you become much, much more Detached.  &  if you realize who you are, you have innate Detachment, which is supreme Detachment. The greater the Detachment, the greater the Bliss. The more the attachment, the more the suffering. Suffering & attachment are the same thing.

[responding to a question as whether Detachment entails Duality]

No. In a state of attachment, there is Duality. There are you & the object.  You cling to the object, but fruitlessly so, because the object will vanish or your Body will vanish or both will vanish.  It is purposeless. While you are attached to the object, you suffer. Even though you do so in the name of gain­ing Happiness, you suffer. You suffer when the object is not there. Then, you suffer fear of its loss when it is there. That is not the way to be. That is not the Ideal State.

We speak of Detachment. It is a state of Knowledge in which you no longer confound your sense of Identity or your Happiness with that thing to which you were previously attached. Higher still, we no longer regard the thing as Real, in which case Duality has been obliterated. You must have 2 to have Duality. There cannot be a Duality in the Discernment between the unreal & the Real. The experience is that you see what is. That which is not has never come to be. There is no Duality in that. It is the resolution of Duality.

The above themes & 1600 pages more are freely available as perused or downloaded PDF’s, the sole occupants of a Public Microsoft Skydrive “Public Folder” accessible through 



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"There is no Creation, no Destruction, no Bondage, no longing to be freed from Bondage, no striving for Liberation, nor anyone who has attained Liberation. Know that this to be Ultimate Truth."    the "no creation" school of Gaudapada, Shankara, Ramana, Nome  Ajata Vada

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