Prema Jyothi – September 2024

Newsletter of the Sacred Earth Community

Disciple: Master: what is the means to gain the nature of eternal bliss, ever devoid of misery?

Master: Apart from the statement in the Vedas that wherever there is a body there is misery, this is also the direct experience of all people. Therefore, one should enquire into one’s true nature, which is ever bodiless, and one should remain as such. This is the means of gaining that state.

Sri Ramana Maharshi – Vichara Sangraham – Self Enquiry

Atma Vichara – the inquiry into our true nature is a time-honoured method of self-realisation. Here, at Tiruvannamalai, at the feet of the sacred mountain Arunachala, we are reminded of the power of deep inquiry into our true nature.

The modern sage, Ramana Maharshi, began his spiritual quest in 1895 in a town, some distance from here. As a 16 year old, he was suddenly struck with a tremendous fear of death. This appeared from nowhere. He had never really had much of a spiritual inclination prior to this. (Although he used to fall asleep so deeply that he would be difficult to awaken.) This feeling was not simply a thought, His breathing and his heart stopped in that moment Yet He still existed! The experience initiated a deep inquiry within him. “Who is it that dies?” Ripe soul, he almost immediately realised that it was simply the body that dies. After that realisation, He knew that He was (I Am) beyond the death of the body. That I Am He experienced as a powerful force and presence deep within the heart.

After this experience, a great yearning arising within the heart, impelled Him to travel to the sacred mountain Arunachala. He knew that that this desire came from the deepest part of his being. Following this impulse, He left his uncle’s house in Madurai, travelling by train and foot, until He arrived at Arunachala. On arriving at the foot of the mountain He found that He had no inclination to go anywhere else, and he stayed in that place until he left his body in 1950.

At first, He would find quiet places in the great temple of Arunachaleshwara. There He would sit for days on end, absorbed in the infinite Self. He did not need to undertake any spiritual practices, as He had moved beyond such, but He found He craved privacy and quiet, so moved about to various places within and without the temple. In one place, the patala sanctuary (underground) He was discovered after weeks, with the body in a pitiful condition. He was sitting with his back against a wall and insects, finding their normal routes about the dark space had tunnelled between His back and the walls, creating gouges in His flesh. So absorbed was He that He was unaware of this. The Swami who found Him began to care for Him, so that this would not happen again. After a while Ramana found that He craved even more quiet and moved up the Hill to a cave, where He was less disturbed. However, people came to see Him and tried to speak with Him, but He spoke little, and what He said was the highest spiritual wisdom. His fame grew and, eventually an ashram grew up at the foot of the hill, where Ramana stayed until He left the body in 1950.

The legacy that Ramana left is monumental. His ashram is considered one of the most auspicious places in Tamil Nadu, and His body of literary work is broad, yet profoundly focused on the realisation of the Self. At the same time there is a strong devotional thread that runs through His writing and teachings.

However, His key teaching is the sadhana of Self-Enquiry, the deep investigation of who we are. This is no mere intellectual exercise, but a profound questioning within the heart as to what the nature of self is. The ego (the separate identity that we develop over our lifetime) has a powerful hold on the mind. Incredibly it is also a product of mind, a chimera that entraps us into thinking we are separate entities. Self-Enquiry has the potential to dispel the notion of a separate ego entity, and to open us up to the possibility that we are immortal beings, one with the consciousness that birthed creation.

Ramana Maharshi at Virupaksha Cave

What is to be Known?

In an Indian story a disciple is asked by the master, “What is the one thing to be known by which everything is known?”

It is worth pondering this question deep within. The answer cannot come from the mind, it has to come from the inner understanding. The simple answer is that the Self, if known, confers all knowledge. However, knowing the Self is a process. We cannot acquire this knowledge from religion, books or teachings. We can only come to realise that Oneness of the Self within and the Self without through deep inquiry.

We can begin by examining our lives. What is the worth of living unconsciously? We are subject to the vicissitudes of life, but when we live consciously our life becomes an extension of that consciousness. What life throws at us we absorb it into our conscious experience, and we meet it with full awareness of who we are – the eternal Self, which no calamity or fortune can affect.

Therefore, the only knowledge worth knowing is knowledge of the Self. For it is from the Self that all this creation flows. The mind, being an instrument of the Self, is the creative power that manifests all of this wondrous multiplicity. It is important to recognise that the bedrock of creation is the Self, not the instrument that created nor the creation itself. This is the one thing to be known by which all else is known.

Arunachala – the mountain calls

I first came to the place about fifteen years ago. Tiruvannamalai is the town that sits at the base of the sacred mountain. It is full of temples, Shive Linga, sadhus (wandering monks) and ashrams (spiritual centres). Tiruvannamalai is a place dedicated to God. But none of this would exist without the mountain. Its attractive power is highly evident. Everywhere we walk in this town, our faces are turned towards Arunachala, like a subtle magnetic force pulling us to the mountain. It was Arunachala that drew me here, and it is Arunachala that keeps drawing me back.

What is it about this hill that has such power? It is not a large mountain, like those found in the Himalayas, there is no snowy top. On the surface, it looks no different from the other hills that arise out of the baking heat of the Tamil Nadu plains. Yet, there is a subtle drawing power that emanates from the hill, drawing spiritual seekers from all over the world.

It is said that the mountain is hollow. This is similar to a number of other sacred hills in Tamil Nadu. This land is ancient geographically and in its human history. It has been the home of many famous siddhas and yogis. Patanjali, the sage who expounded the eight-fold path of yoga, lived here. The great Agastya, a rishi who was born in the north, came down to this land thousands of years ago and established the siddha tradition. There is a small waterhole on the side of Arunachala called Agastya Tirtham. Ramana was asked if the great rishi (Agastya) ever came there. Ramana replied, “Yes, of course, everyone must come here eventually.” Highly spiritually advanced siddhas are said to be still living under the ancient hill, spreading their spiritual influence throughout the population. A tunnel is known to run from one side of Arunachala to the other, linking the two major temples in Tiruvannamalai, Adi Annamalai and Arunachaleswara. The entrances are permanently locked on the instructions of Ramana. This was to stop the curious from entering and disturbing the siddhas and yogis who reside under the hill! Certainly, there is a great power emanating from the hill, and the possibility is that a very large lingam is installed beneath it.

In Ramana’s day the slopes of the hill were bare, with scrubby, thorny plants growing among the rocks. Farmers used to graze goats all over the hill, so not much had a chance to grow. One can see from the photos it was a hot, barren place. When I first came to the hill, there were trees, but much rocky ground, with few plants of any size. Now, a society has been established with the aim to restore the hill to its natural state. So far, this has proven successful, with lush forest growing on the once bare slopes, and much wildlife returned. Somehow it feels that this forest restoration has enhanced the spiritual vibration of Arunachala.

The mountain path Arunachala today with forested slopes

Arunachala reminds us to seek the truth within our hearts – to reveal the One that we truly are. The call of the mountain is to dive deep within to that place where we know the eternal from the ephemeral. This mountain has withstood time’s ravages, the degradation of its natural environment and the footsteps of countless pilgrims. Still, it remains timeless, a silent sentinel to the enduring infinite consciousness.

- Satyavan

The Eternal Flame

Arunachala has been termed a ‘Hill of Light’. Its flame is said to be eternal – the fiery pillar of Shiva that has no beginning nor end. Every year since time immemorial a great festival occurs called Deepam. At the culmination of the festival a great fire is lit at the peak of the sacred mountain. This represents the fiery pillar, but also reflects the fire of jnana (knowledge) in our hearts.

We are the flame eternal, the absolute consciousness. Every moment is a deepam occurring within. With conscious awareness, arising from the deep questioning “Who am I?” inside, we come to know ourselves as the Self – the eternal flame of knowledge, the eternal flame of Love, the eternal flame of truth.

If we could but let that flame burn away the illusion of limitedness, the delusion that we are the ego, and the confusion about what is real and what is unreal, we come to a place within ourselves that speaks of the eternal, that opens us to that great mystery, one that cannot be solved, but only experienced. - Satyavan

Self-Inquiry – a practice

How can we start the process of inquiring as to who we are? It seems a daunting concept to contemplate at first. What is important to understand is who we are not.

The body – we say, ‘my body’. That statement implies that we have a body, but it is not us. Therefore, we need to practise separating ourselves from the body. At first, we can imagine that our conscious awareness is not identified with the body. For this to occur, at least in the beginning, we need to find a clam, quiet place and ask the question – not who am I? But where am I? The body is in a certain place, but we are mostly going to many places in our thoughts. Watch the thoughts. See where they take us. When we are engaged in thought, the body seems to cease to exist. If we can be a witness to what is happening, we can realise that, whilst we have a body, we are very often not identified with it.

The mind - The dis-identification from the body is relatively easy when compared to dis-identification from the mind. Thought is powerful, and it is vagrant – wandering. Many meditative techniques exist to help us dis-identify with thoughts. The simplest one is to watch the breath as it inhales and exhales. The watching in itself will slow the breath and slow the mental chaos that exists inside of us. When a thought arises, we can watch it come and go. As we become more distant from thought, we can then begin inquiring – “From where did this thought arise?”

This process takes us deeper into a place that is beyond both mind and body. When thought stills, the Self emerges and makes itself known. This may only be for a fleeting moment at first but, gradually the process becomes Self-driven, and we can slip into that space gently, without the fuss that the mind makes when it realises it no longer has supremacy over our consciousness.

Koham – who am I? becomes Sohum – I am that. This leads to Aham – I am. It is important to realise that this process cannot be forced, but it can be encouraged. At first, we find a quiet space to undertake this practice. After a while, the practice can begin to occur wherever we are, whatever we are doing, thinking or saying. We stop ourselves and ask, who was it that did, said or thought that. I have often found the mind going into its convoluted journeys and stopped myself – “Oh mind, what are you up to. Come back to the heart and find rest and stillness.” Then the purity of consciousness that I am (the I AM) comes to the forefront and the mind must take a back seat. It is not destroyed or even that quiescent at times. It simply has the back seat and is no longer the driver.

The process of self-inquiry is inevitable for all human beings. It does not supersede other spiritual practices, but rather underlies all spiritual endeavour. -Satyavan

“Self-inquiry is the flash of total consciousness. Its practice can be engaged in at any time. People engage in self-inquiry in order to realize the truth of Self once and for all, and thus be free of doubt. No philosopher, or sage or writer claims credit for discovering self-inquiry. Just as small creatures arise spontaneously within a mass of rotting flesh, self-inquiry arises spontaneously within the pain of human sorrow. The modes of self-inquiry are as varied as the individuals within whom the urge to inquire arises. The text and chapter of self–inquiry is more easily come upon in the East than in the West, but the urge to know what one naturally is, stripped naked of all that can be discarded, is strong and alive to inquiring minds the world over.” - Dr John Hislop – My Baba and I