Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma

(135) HEARING, MEDITATION AND THE LIKE

Prev Next    19th July, 1947
Yesterday, two pandits came from Kumbakonam. This
morning at 9 o’clock, they approached Bhagavan and said,
“Swami, we take leave of you. We pray that you may be
pleased to bless us that our mind may merge or dissolve
itself in shanti.” Bhagavan nodded his head as usual. After
they had left, he said, looking at Ramachandra Iyer, “shanthi
is the original state. If what comes from outside is rejected
what remains is peace. What then is there to dissolve or
merge? Only that which comes from outside has to be
thrown out. If people whose minds are mature are simply
told that the swarupa itself is shanti, they get jnana. It is only
for immature minds that sravana and manana are prescribed,
but for mature minds there is no need of them. If people at
a distance enquire how to go to Ramana Maharshi, we have
to tell them to get into such and such a train or take such
and such a path, but if they come to Tiruvannamalai, reach
Ramanasramam and step into the hall, it is enough if only
they are told, here is that person. There is no need for
them to move any farther.”
“Sravana and manana mean only those described in
Vedanta, don’t they?” asked some one. “Yes,” Bhagavan
replied, “but one thing, not only are there outward sravana
and manana but there are also inward sravana and manana.

They must occur to a person as a result of the maturity of
his mind. Those that are able to do that antara sravana
(hearing inwardly) do not have any doubts.”
Whenever any one asked what those antara sravanas are,
he used to say, “Antara sravana means the knowledge of that
Atma which is in the cave of the heart always illuminated with
the feeling ‘aham, aham’ (‘I, I’), and to get that feeling to be in
one’s heart is manana, and to remain in one’s self is nididhyasa.”
In this connection, it is worth while remembering the
sloka written by Bhagavan bearing on this subject. In that sloka
mention is made not only to Atma sphurana but also how to
secure it. Securing means only remaining in one’s own self.

ùdyk...hrmXye kevl< äümaÇm!,
ýhmhimit sa]adaTmêpe[ Éait,
ùid ivz mnsa Svm! icNvta m3⁄4ta va,
pvncln raexadaTminóae Év Tvm!.

Brahman is glowing lustrously in the middle of the cave
of the Heart in the shape of the Self, always proclaiming
‘I am, I am’. Become an Atmanishta, a Self-realised person,
either by making the mind absorbed in the search of the
Self or by making the mind drown itself through control
of the breath.


(c) Sri Ramanasramam, Tiruvannamalai
Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi | Words of Bhagavan Ramana | Bhagavan Ramana Photos

Prev Next    TOC 134. Jnanadrishti (Supernatural Vision) 135. Hearing, Meditation and the Like 136. The Attitude of Silence 137. Beyond the Three States 138. Samadhi 139. Remain Where You Are 140. Only One and All–Pervading Self 141. Manifestation of the Self 142. Simplicity 143. Mother’s Gift 144. Peace of Mind Itself is Liberation 145. Arunachalam