Sri Ramana Wants Us To Keep It Simple

 

I recently uploaded a section on Self Enquiry onto my website. You can view it at this link

https://www.arunachalasamudra.org/selfenquiry.html

I realise and accept that we have to keep repeating the message over and over for it to overwhelm all those stubborn vasanas.

When you go to the Ashram bookstore it is packed with all and sundry discussing Ramana's self enquiry. But it was Ramana that admonished us "don't make it complicated, its very simple." Below is a short quote from the book Bhagavan's Grace which is an example of the perfect simplicity of his representation of Self Enquiry. Its very nice.

Bhagavan's Grace

Q:  What are the hindrances to the realization of the true self?

Bhagavan:  Memory, chiefly habits of thoughts, accumulated tendencies.

Q:  How does one get rid of these hindrances?

Bhagavan:  Seek for the self through meditation by tracing every thought back to its origin, which is only mind. Never allow thought to run on. If you do it will be unending. Take it back to the starting place, the mind; again and again, and the thought and the mind both die of inaction.

The mind only exists by reason of thought. Stop that and there is no mind. As each doubt and depression arises, ask yourself, "Who is it that doubts?" Tear everything away until there is nothing but the source of all that remains.

Live always in the present, there is no past or future, except in the mind.

Self Enquiry explanation by Rupert Spira

I have embedded a video of Rupert Spira down below. Rupert Spira born March 13, 1960 is an international teacher of the “direct path”, (neoadvaita method of spiritual self enquiry) which he communicates through talks and writing. In addition he is a trained, notable English potter with work in display at collections throughout the world.

For me he is one of the clearest and best speakers on self enquiry. He keeps his talks and explanations simple and uncomplicated. Think he is one of the most helpful speakers on self enquiry nowadays.

Give the video a watch and make your own mind up. You can check out his website at this link here.

Find out the Nature of I

Robert Adams Audio Satsang

'During the Fall of 1946, Robert arrived by train to the town of Tiruvannamalai, a few miles from Arunachala Mountain, where lay Ramanashram and his future teacher, Ramana Maharshi. He took a bullock cart to the Ashram, was admitted, and stayed the night. Early the next day while walking back from the mountain, towards the Ashram, he spotted Ramana walking down the path towards him. An electrifying energy coursed through his body, and the last of what men call an ego left him. He felt completely surrendered, completely open. As Ramana got closer, Robert stripped off his clothes, approached Ramana and dropped to his guru's feet. Ramana reached down grabbing Robert by his shoulder, and looked into Robert's eyes with complete love and said, 'I have been waiting for you. Get up! Get up!' Robert said had Ramana asked him to leap over a cliff at that moment, he would have done so gladly. 

Robert stayed at Ramana Ashram for a little over three years, during which time he bought a jeep for the Ashram to bring supplies from town, and helped build a large hospital at the Ashram using money from an inheritance. . . . 

During the late 1940's, Ramana was almost constantly ill with severe arthritis and other ailments, including the cancer that eventually killed him. Few visitors were allowed to stay for more than a few weeks at the Ashram, so Robert lived mostly in the caves above, which also allowed him to avoid the crowds.' 

Robert Adams

"Do not debate, discuss, interpret nor pronounce your spiritual Path; simply devote yourself heart and soul to it, day and night, with humility. One who is progressing has no desire to pronounce it. Choose one Path and take it all the way. The point is to have a Direct Experience of God. Of the Unimaginable Beauty Within . . . . Utilize this time to transcend identification with your human-hood of personal suffering completely, and the Bliss, the love of True Reality, will come shining forth. There is a world of beauty, Supernal love, compassion, bliss indescribable. With which do you identify?" 

[Robert Adams]

How to Practice Self Enquiry by Rupert Spira

Many devotees who visit Arunachala wish to learn more about Self Enquiry and how to practice it. Probably one of the most popular works available at the Ramana Ashram bookstore explaining the method of Self Enquiry is by Sri Sadhu Om. 

Nowadays there are many videos on the internet by modern day teachers and gurus talking about “techniques” of Self Enquiry. 

Probably one of the most lucid and helpful contemporary teachers of advaitism and Self Enquiry is Rupert Spira. Below is a short narrative of his life. 

Rupert lives in Oxford, U.K., where he works as a a ceramic potter whilst also holding satsang meetings and spiritual retreats worldwide.

Rupert Spira

Rupert Spira is a spiritual writer and teacher of Advaita (non duality). His first teacher was Dr. Francis Roles, and under his guidance he learnt mantra meditation and was introduced to advaitism. Concurrently he studied the works of P.D. Ouspensky and learnt about the Movements of Gurdjieff. He also attended meetings of Dr. Krishnamurti which were highly influential in his spiritual development. Throughout his spiritual endeavours he studied the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj. A meeting with Robert Adams (shortly before Adams’ death) was to lead him to his next teacher Francis Lucille. Over the next 12 years Rupert Spira immersed himself in spirituality under the guidance of Francis Lucille. Spira was later to say: 

 “I do not know what it is about the words, actions or presence of the teacher or teaching that seem to awaken this recognition of our essential nautre as it truly is and its subsequent realisation in our lives but I am eternally grateful to Francis for our friendship.” 

Rupert Spira at Satsang

There is an excellent question and answer narrative on Rupert Spira at this link. One of the questions posed to Rupert Spira is: 

Question: What do you think about Ramana’s practice of Self-enquiry? 

Answer: The natural state is simply to be, without resisting what is by inverting upon an inward self or trying to replace what is by pursuing objects in the world. However, if we think and feel that we are a separate entity, resisting and searching are unavoidable. In other words, we will be searching for the Happiness we believe is missing, rather than simply being. As such, having deeply tasted the futility of the search for Peace or Happiness in the objects of the body, mind and world, the very best we can do as this apparent entity is to explore the entity we consider ourselves to be, the one who is in search. This enquiry resolves itself in the abidance of our own Being. Thus, Self-enquiry is the highest activity that a mind that is still in search can undertake. However, Self-enquiry doesn’t end with the discovery that we are impersonal, ever-present Awareness. It continues as an impersonal activity that facilitates the realignment of the mind, body and world with the experiential understanding of ourselves as impersonal Awareness. 

Question: Would you say that a time frame is required for the teaching to mature (as in traditional Advaita and the teacher-guru relationship) or would you say some kind of understanding could arise at any time (as in Neo Advaita and the satsang formula)? 

Answer: Both! Enlightenment is always instantaneous. In fact, it is timeless, although it may or may not be preceded by a period of investigation. 

After the non-objective recognition of our own Being, a process takes place in time that re-orchestrates, as it were, the mind, body and world with this new experiential understanding. 

If there has been a long period of investigating and exploring these matters prior to the recognition of Being, the body and mind may already be well aligned with this experiential understanding so that when this recognition occurs not much adaptation is necessary. 

However, if this recognition takes place spontaneously with little or no preparation, the mind and the body may be utterly disorientated by this recognition and may, as a result, require longer to become realigned with it. 

However, there are no rules or formulas. Anything is possible. 

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Below is a video of Rupert Spira answering the question. “How to practice Self Enquiry?” during one his spiritual retreats.

Mahashivaratri Retreat 2014

Torsten Brugge and Padma Woolf have been bringing pilgrim groups from Europe to Tiruvannamalai over the course of the last 10 years. For each of their visits, the venue for their Retreat is the peace-filled Sri Nannagaru Ashram. 

In 2014 the Brugge—Woolf Retreat was scheduled for February 22nd – March 8th and for the first time during their regular Arunachala Pilgrimage, their group was at Arunachala during the sacred time of Mahashivaratri (February 28, 2014). 

As well as their usual programme of satsang, guided meditations, talks and meetings, during their 2014 Retreat there was also a special programme in connection with the Mahashivaratri Festival which included an escorted group giripradakshina of Arunachala late in the evening of February 28. I hope to soon be posting photographs, narratives and reports from participants of the Brugge—Woolf 2014 Arunachala Retreat. 

“Torsten and Padma offer self-enquiry in the tradition of Sri Ramana Maharshi and in the lineage of Sri Poonjaji, Gangaji and Eli Jaxon-Bear. The focus of the retreat will be to make Sri Ramana Maharshi’s profound self-enquiry and the silent power of Arunachala accessible to participants. Torsten and Padma offer daily Satsang-meetings on the roof-terrace of Sri Nannagaru Ashram. The group will also visit different abodes of Sri Ramana Maharshi on the mountain for silent meditation. 

In their dialogues with participants Torsten and Padma support spiritual seekers through traditional as well as modern approaches of self-enquiry to awaken to the inner freedom of our true nature and ground ourselves in that. To that end they also make their experience in Enneagram-work, Buddhist meditation, transpersonal psychology and other approaches available. 

The main transmission, however, consists in the message of Sri Ramana Maharshi: ‘We already are the formless, silent Awareness before, during and after all transient appearances. When we rediscover that, our limited sense of I dissolves and the natural bliss of our true nature shines forth.’” 

To watch a video of Torsten and Padma’s response to the question, “Sri Ramana Maharshi said that Self-enquiry is the most direct route to realising the Self. What do you say about Self-enquiry? How to conduct Self-enquiry? Go to this video link here. 

The next Torsten Brugge and Padma Woolf Arunachala Retreat will last for 2 weeks and start on March 1, 2015 and be held at the venue of Sri Nannagaru Ashram. For more information you can get in touch direct at the email link top left of this page.