I seldom read spiritual books anymore but a few days ago I ran across a mention of John Grimes and for some reason, I can’t remember why, decided to read his book on Ramana. All I knew was that he is a retired professor of philosophy who specialized in Advaita Vedanta. The book turned out […]
Tag: Self-enquiry
My new way of talking about Ramana’s method
From now on, for a while at least, I’m going to refer to Ramana’s method as Ramana’s method. I’m going to avoid saying “vichara” or “self-investigation” (Michael James’s favorite way to translate “vichara”) and “self-attention” (Michael’s second-favorite way). And I’ll avoid the commonest names, “Self-enquiry” and “Who Am I?”, because those names are the most […]
Why most people get nowhere with Ramana’s method They look for an object
A friend wrote to me yesterday: More and more Ramana’s words come to mind, and I say, “Okay, but who or what is having those experiences?” As I go into that, nothing is there, and I find experience just is. How about that? My friend is finding nothing because he’s looking for an object (mental […]
Tether and magnet: the method of dwelling on the ‘I’ sense
Note from Freddie: The author of this guest post is the friend who I quoted in an earlier article a few days ago. Here’s his answer to the first question that readers asked. Welcome to all who read this. I should like firstly to thank Freddie for giving me the opportunity to speak to you […]
The most surprising thing that ever happened to me
Instead of the title you see on this article I could have chosen, “The night I completely lost interest in my thoughts.” Both names are accurate. The experience that I’m about to describe occurred about 20 years ago, shortly after I became an earnest seeker, on a particular night when I made a much greater […]
Biblical Self-enquiry?
Is this statement from the Bible a description of Self-enquiry? The spirit of man is the lamp of the LORD, Searching all the innermost parts of his being. Proverbs 20:27, New American Standard Bible The innermost part of our being is the lamp. The search ends only when it rests as itself. Related reading: Ouspensky’s […]
Find the Source, Nisargadatta-style
People who read Ramana and Nisargadatta are sometimes surprised by the extent of the differences. But are the differences really so great or are they mostly a matter of vocabulary? Ramana’s method is basically: Find the source of the I-thought and stay there until the I-thought dissolves. That source is your real identity. Doesn’t this […]
Did Ramana practice Self-enquiry for four years or a few minutes?
How did Ramana Maharshi get Self-realized? The standard description goes something like this: One day when Ramana was 16 years old, for no apparent reason, he suddenly thought he was about to die. Instead of shouting for help or running to a doctor, he lay on the floor and pretended he was already dead. He […]
What is suffering?
This thing we call suffering — what is it, really? We hate it so much that we take it for granted. Taken to extremes it’s a state in which we wish we didn’t exist. But even if that’s true it doesn’t answer the question. Can we use suffering as a gateway? As a target for […]
The Hole
You live your life on the edge of a hole incomprehensibly wide and deep. The funny thing is that you think you’re not aware of the hole when everything you do, see, know, and feel including you itself is merely your effort not to fall in. You don’t have to find the hole. It’s what […]