Sadhanas from Upadesa Saram

- Spiritual Instructions of
Ramana Maharshi

Swami Shantananda Puri

Publisher
ARPANA
624, 37th Main, Sri Rajeshwari Nagar,
Bangalore – 560098

For Free Distribution

Title : Sadhanas from Upadesa Saram

Author : Sri Swami Shantananda Puri

Editors : Devotees of Swami Shantananda Puri

Release : September 2014

No. of Copies : 1500 copies [First Edition]

Printers : Union Press
Sir H. C. Dinshaw Building,
13, Homji Street,
16, Horniman Circle,
Fort, Mumbai- 400001

Publisher © : ARPANA
624, 37th Main, Sri Rajeshwari Nagar,
Bangalore – 560098

Email : [email protected]

Website :
http://www.swamishantanandapurimaharaj.org/
 About the Author

His Holiness Sri Swami Shantananda Puri of Vasishta Guha

(Himalayas), born in 1928, is a disciple of Parama Poojya Sri
Swami Purushottamananda Puri Maharaj of Vasishta Guha,
Himalayas. Swamiji is a scholar par excellence in Vedic
scriptures as well as in the puranic texts. His deep knowledge
and lucid exposition of Srimad Bhagavatam, Bhagavad
Gita and Ashtavakra Gita have made him a popular guide
to spiritual aspirants. His simplicity, transparent deep faith
in the divine force and absolute surrender to the Supreme
have made him an ideal combination of Jnana, Bhakti and
Vairagya. Swamiji’s prodigious learning and deep devotion
to the tenets of Indian philosophy and culture have reflected
themselves in all his works, which are practical guides for
inner personal experience and to raise oneself to a higher
level of being. His emphasis has always been on ‘Practice,
practice, practice’.
 SAMARPAN

Dedicated at the holy feet of

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi,
the greatest luminary in the firmament
of spirituality in the recent past. In compiling
this book, I have depended mainly on
Upadesa Saram published by
Sri Ramanasramam. My humble
pranams to Bhagavan Ramana
and thanks to Sri Ramanasramam.

With respectful prostrations

– Swami Shantananda Puri

Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi
Sri Swami Shantananda Puri Maharaj
 Contents

Part A:
Introduction 1
Section 1 – Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga 3
Section 2 – Social Service 10
Section 3 – Meditation 15
Section 4 – Breath Control [Prānāyāma] 22
Section 5 – Subsidence and Annihilation of Mind 24
Section 6 – Self-enquiry - Vichara Marga 30

Part B:
Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning 39
List of books by Swami Shantananda Puri 69
Part A:
 1

Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Introduction
Upadesa Saram is one of the very few books written as full
volumes by Bhagavan Ramana himself. The other books
are Akshara Manamalai, Sad Darsanam and Ramana
Gita. Sad Darsanam and Ramana Gita contain the advices,
clarifications and answers given by Bhagavan Ramana to
various people who came to see him in Virupaksha Guha,
etc. Ganapathi Muni encapsulated some of these as well as
gist of his conversations with Bhagavan by way of slokas in
Sanskrit and this compilation was released as a book titled
'Ramana Gita'. Upadesa Saram was composed by Bhagavan
originally in Tamil [Upadesa Undiyar] and subsequently in
Telugu and Malayalam.

Background
Muruganar, one of the greatest devotees of Ramana in his
days was an excellent poet in Tamil and composed a poem
detailing all the Lilas [disportation] of Lord Siva on the
lines of the famous book in Tamil called Periya Puranam.
There a chapter comes wherein certain Brahmins who were
completely devoted to rituals [Karma Kanda], ignoring
the presence of an ultimate reality, called God or any of
his manifestations wanted to acquire a lot of miraculous
and other powers in this world. Lord Siva took pity on
those Brahmins and wanted to put them on the right track
of moksha. He requested Lord Vishnu to take the form of
a very beautiful girl [a divine nymph] and he himself took
2 Part 1- Introduction

the garb of a young attractive monk. Thoroughly naked

he went to the place where the Brahmins were performing
rituals. On seeing the attractive girl [Lord Vishnu] those
Brahmins left out all the rituals, became mad with love and
went after the girl. The girl decoyed them to a big forest and
disappeared from sight. Disappointed when they managed
to return to their own residence, they were horror stricken
to see that all their wives were running behind the young
monk [Lord Siva in disguise]. Being enraged, they conjured
up an elephant, a tiger and a snake, one after another and
directed them towards Lord Siva. Lord Siva killed both the
elephant and the tiger while he put the snake around his
neck. The Brahmins there assumed that the young monk had
far superior powers than themselves. They prostrated before
him and requested for spiritual instruction. At this stage of
writing all this, Muruganar was unable to proceed further.
He took the papers to Bhagavan Ramana and requested
him to fill the portion of Siva’s spiritual instructions to the
Brahmins. Without hesitation Bhagavan Ramana complied
with his request and those instructions have been separately
published as Upadesa Saram.
 3

Section 1
Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga

In the days of yore, there were rishis who believed and

followed any of the five systems of vedic philosophies known
as Sankhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaiseshikha and Poorvamimamsa
[the philosophy of non duality or Advaita being the sixth and
known also as Uttaramimamsa].

The followers of Poorvamimamsa of Jaimini recommended

only rituals like fire sacrifices [yagas and yagnas] which
would either endow the persons with immense powers in
this world or satisfy the desires for worldly objects like
begetting a son, etc. These Mimamsakas2 had no overall
concept of God or Ultimate Reality and believed in
individual or multiple souls. According to them, each one
of the various rituals performed by them in their lifetime
created an energy called ‘Apoorva’ on its own which also
had something like a ledger account with an invisible
imprint of the various rituals done by a person, the rewards
of the various planes [lokas] of enjoyment to which one
was entitled for a fixed number of days, etc. This energy
was invisibly attached to the individual so that it will guide
and direct the individual after death to earn the rewards in
the other planes of enjoyment to which they were entitled.
This according to Lord Siva is a meaningless concept as an
inert action like a ritual cannot produce an intelligent and
dynamic energy. So in the very first and second verses of

2
These are people called Mimamsakas who advocate and practice the tenets of
the philosophy called Jaimini’s Poorvamimamsa.
4 Section 1 - Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga

this book, Bhagavan Ramana is condemning the way of

actions as per the imaginary theory of Poorvamimamsa. The
ritualistic actions performed by people in various stages of
their lives [say different types of Yagaas], the result of the
various types of rewards to various people and to endow
them with the various powers they craved for, are all done
only by the will of the Almighty, i.e. the Supreme Lord. An
insentient or an inert object is one which cannot act by itself
unless impelled by another external force which has to be
a conscious force, since the actions cannot be supreme and
superior to this consciousness. The actions are inert and are
incapable of producing any intelligent energy. Here the word
karma refers to those ritualistic actions which are divided
into five categories:

1. Nitya karmas: which are actions like the chanting of

Gayatri mantras at prescribed intervals like dawn, dusk
etc., the performance of agnihotra [a type of obligatory
fire sacrifice for certain group of people], etc.

2. Naimittika karmas [seasonal or occasional karmas]:

which are imposed on groups of individuals, for instance
fasting and doing pooja on the day of Sivaratri. These are
done only on certain occasions.

3. Kamya karmas: Going to the office on a salaried basis,

running a business or a factory or an industry, tilling
the land and growing crops [agriculture], etc. are called
Kamya karmas. In other words, they are not imposed or
given as injunctions by the scriptures but stem out of
 Section 1 - Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga 5

personal desires for promotion, status, prestige, money,

etc. These are not included in the word karma or action
in our scriptures like Bhagavad Gita.

4. Nishidha karma: These are prohibited actions like

drinking of liquor, adultery, etc. which are prohibited in
the scriptures as sins of the first order.

5. Prayaschitta karma: These are actions performed as a

remedy to absolve oneself of the effect of sins committed.

[Note: The above two, i.e., Nishidha karma and Prayaschitta

karma are not very important in the present context].

In the first verse of Upadesa Saram, Bhagavan Ramana has

stated that ritualistic karmas alone may not give any result
without the acceptance of the presence of an overall almighty.
The overall almighty alone being the doer of all actions can
decide [and not the inert actions] as to what sort of result is
to be given to the false doer and for how long.

When once we start doing action after action, the results will
lead to a fall in the great ocean of samsara caused by the
actions. Naturally, the karma kanda of the scriptures which
advocates the various actions like the daily and occasional
yagas and yagnas like the one prescribed for begetting a child
[putra kameshti] give us only results which are impermanent
and will not lead to the permanent results of having no
more birth or death called moksha. Whatever work we do,
including desire-oriented-actions [kamya karma] can only
6 Section 1 - Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga

be classified either as good or bad actions. If it is a bad

action, another birth is needed to get a body for experiencing
the punishments for the bad deeds done in previous births.
Likewise, if the actions were good, we have to get a body in
order to enjoy the rewards for the good actions done. Thus
we fall into the endless ocean of repeated births and deaths
and there will be no end to it. The rebirths will carry over
the vasanas and desires of the previous birth into the next
birth and again will be induced to do good or bad actions
accordingly. Thus a chain of births and deaths become
inevitable. The result of any particular action alone out of
personal desires [out of ever so many actions being done
everyday by an individual] stops when once the desired end
is obtained, say begetting a child. Not only it has a negative
role but it also blocks our way to moksha [which means
cessation of all rebirths forever].

Now naturally the question arises that if this method of

karma yoga3 [the path of action] is going to result in endless
trouble and will not take us to moksha at all, why have they
been prescribed in the scriptures. This karma yoga can be
made to be beneficial and most effective to us provided we
apply a small technique in its operation.

The two conditions for the actions to be beneficial for

moksha are:

3
The word yoga is used in two different ways. The final union with the Lord is
called yoga and the path to the Lord is also called yoga. If the term Karma yoga
is used, the word ‘yoga’ in this context would mean a path in connection with
reaching the Lord.
 Section 1 - Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga 7

1. Make the action to be done as an offering to the Lord

saying, “Lord, let all these actions done by me become
dedicated to you. You are the only doer. I do nothing.
May all the results redound to you.”

2. The work should be done without being impelled by

any personal desire like obtaining of prestige, honour,
promotion, status, etc. in the society or to earn money,
etc. This is the key point in obtaining moksha. It is told
in the Upanishads, if only all the desires leave us and
get out, then immediately the mortal becomes immortal
and attains the Brahman or the Supreme Reality here and
now [which is called moksha].

The action should be done either because we are inspired
and impelled by the Lord to do the task or as a bounden
duty imposed by the scriptures.

In realising God or the Ultimate Reality, two steps are

involved:

1. To keep our mind clean so that the Lord can come and
occupy it.

2. We have to pray to the Lord at all times requesting Him

to come and sit in our mind and heart and endow us with
liberation or moksha.

What is this impurity which sticks to our mind and has to

be removed? It is fundamentally the ego, i.e. considering
8 Section 1 - Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga

the body as myself. All other impurities like attachment [to

son, wife, etc.], anger, jealousy, desires, etc. will follow. If
we have to call the President of United States to visit my
house in India, is it not essential that we should keep our
house spic and span, neat and attractive? This applies to
moksha also. It is not enough if we keep the house clean
but the most important part of it is to go to USA, get an
appointment with the President and to persuade him to come
to our house. If we go on cleaning the house without doing
the second portion, the President of USA will never know
that we desire him to come to our house. Thus, keeping the
house clean serves our purpose only indirectly. The same
thing applies to moksha. Karma purifies the mind and thus
becomes indirectly beneficial in getting liberation.

Even among the actions, the ritualistic worship of the Lord

[puja], chanting of Guru mantra [japa] and meditating on the
Lord by thinking of Him at all times, which are all done
respectively by the body, the speech and the mind are the
best respectively in this order, puja being the least effective
and the meditation most effective.

For people who like to have a personal God [with form],

there is a limb of the prerequisites for vedic studies called
‘kalpam’. Many maharshis like Parasurama have written
‘kalpasutras’ detailing the elaborate but separate methods of
worship of the various Gods like the Divine Mother, the Sun,
Vishnu, Siva, etc. which are used by us on various occasions
like Janmashtami, Sivaratri, etc. There are pujas which are
done with five offerings like dhoopa [incense sticks], deepa
 Section 1 - Karma Yoga and Bhakti Yoga 9

[showing the light of a lamp], archana [offering flowers to

the Lord with the various names of the Lord like ashtottara,
sahasranama, etc.], naivedya [offering of food articles] and
lastly arati [like the waving of the lighted camphor]. There is
also a method with sixteen offerings called shodasopachara.
The Puja is mainly done with hands and hence an external
form of worship.

The second form of worship is japa which has been defined

in yogasutra as ‘chanting of the mantra with the mind fully
concentrating on its meaning’. This is less external to puja as
it is done with our speech which starts as ‘paraa’ [Supreme]
and ends as ‘vaikhari’ [the sound which comes out of the
mouth like a spent cartridge].

Better than these two forms of worship is the meditation

where one is aware of the body and has his mind concentrated
on the Lord with form or without form. The subtler and less
external the sadhana is, better is its effect.  
10

Section 2
Social Service

Now the question arises, “What about our being engaged

in social service to serve the world – the needy and the
distressed. Will it take us to God?” Here again it will take us
to God if this work is done applying a small technique. The
technique is to consider our actions to help somebody in this
world as a service to the Lord whose manifested form is the
entire world. Tulsidas, a great Hindi poet says in Ramayana,
“Siyaramamaya sab jag jani; karau pranam jori juga pani” -
“I consider the entire world as consisting of my Lord Ram
and Sita. So I bow to the entire world by folding my both
hands.” This teaching of Ramana is found in the teaching
of the Adi Sankara who had interalia expressed the same
teaching in Dakshinamurti stotra. Towards the end, Adi
Sankara has written one sloka where people who are not able
to go on the jnana marga can worship the Lord manifested
in eight forms. This shows that the world, the creation of the
Lord, is always one with the Lord [the Creator] and cannot
be separated4 .

Here, one could be reminded of the form of Nataraja where

Siva is depicted as a dancer keeping one foot up and one
foot down. When he puts one foot down, it is supposed to
be the creation of the entire world and when he takes it up,

4
Hence, one who wants only liberation should not do social service as is normally
perceived as doing good for the distressed, down trodden, deprived, etc. Even the
social service can become service to the Lord. People who cannot think of the
Lord alone and are engaged in social service can think of the world as the Lord’s
form while performing social service.
 Section 2 - Social Service 11

the dissolution takes place or vice versa. Why did not they
depict Nataraja as a singer and not a dancer? When a person
sings, the music can be separated from the singer. Through
recorders and cassettes, the voice alone can be recorded and
played. But in the case of a dancer like Nataraja, you cannot
separate the dance from the dancer. This only means that
one cannot separate the creator and the creation. The entire
creation is made up of the thought waves of the Supreme
Lord and thought wave being the energy of the Lord, the
material cause for the entire creation is God Himself, just as
the entire pot is made up of mud.

Note on Social Service and Compassion:

Today the subject of social service is very much emphasised

by various individuals. Even profit earning organisations
like the banks and even corporates, etc. allot substantial
sums for social service like free eye treatment, feeding
the poor, sponsoring education, etc. A question arises as to
how this will help us in our progress to moksha especially
when considered for each individual? As already told
earlier, whenever you enter into a project, it will become
cumbersome and complicated as any other project for any
other worldly purposes. There will be a trust where there
will be so many office bearers each of whom with his ego
will be fighting against the others and the project will go on
getting delayed or sometimes fall by itself. I have seen myself
many institutions established by great mahatmas wherein
researches in our culture are being conducted practically
without any properly qualified staff and the top brass of the
12 Section 2 - Social Service

research association never visiting the office even for days

together. We become entangled in this phenomenal world
with jealousy, competition, anger, etc. and thus our prospects
of liberation recede far away. Before a person undertakes a
project, should he not analyse his own status in this life, the
source from which he has come after inheriting all the assets
from that source and thus assess our own competence for
taking up such a social service project. Hence, it is important
that we should do Self enquiry and know to some extent as
to who we are and after knowing our infinite capacity to
do many more magnificent works of even social service. A
volunteer going to the battle field may bandage the wounded
soldiers at the rate of two hundred persons per day. A man
who is liberated, if only he wills in his super consciousness,
he will be able to sit at one place and treat and bandage some
millions of persons at great distances away in a trice. Let
us first take up the project of Self enquiry and recognise all
the heritage we possess before taking up a project for social
service to the world. This does not mean that we should
stop all social service activities immediately. My idea is
how this social service can be done to cover the majority
of the people at the shortest of time with the best efficiency
possible and effortlessly. The social service which we do
at present does help us in cleansing our mind when done
individually instead of collectively.

In connection with social service, more often it is the

compassion which is the mother of inducement to social
service. It is told that a Jivanmukta is neither arrogant nor
compassionate. When there is only one true entity, whom
 Section 2 - Social Service 13

we may call God, who has taken different roles in his cosmic
dream drama, where is the question of any other person to
whom he has to be compassionate. It is better you first have
compassion on yourself and know ‘who you are’ by constant
Self-enquiry rather than have compassion on others.

Even granting that compassion towards the so called

distressed and the needy, is an excellent quality to be
developed, one should know where and when to stop
compassion. A compassion exercised beyond a minimum
limit will only entangle us more and more into the world.
Spiritually there will be a retrograde action. To illustrate it,
an anecdote is detailed below.

There was a very good Swamiji living alone in a cottage

facing the Ganges. One day, he saw a young lady sitting
very near the waters of the Ganges from noon onwards. He
suspected that the lady was contemplating suicide. So he was
keeping a watch on her all through. Just when the dusk was
setting in, the lady got up and walked inside the waters and
suddenly disappeared into the river. The Swamiji ran to the
spot, swam and brought the lady to the banks. He pumped
out the water from her body and she recovered. He walked
a little distance where an autorikshaw was available and
seated himself along with her and took her to her parents'
house giving advice to her all the way as to how suicide was
extremely reprehensible. When he reached the parents' house,
there was ovation on seeing their daughter who was missing
from the morning. They thanked the Swamiji profusely and
the latter went home. Every two days, he began to go to their
14 Section 2 - Social Service

house to enquire about their welfare and one day the lady
wanted to read two books of scriptures Lalita Sahasranamam
and Srimad Bhagavatam. The Swamiji asked her to come
every morning at 8am to his cottage. Within six months
they got married. Within one year, they got divorced legally
from each other and the Swamiji again went and married
for a second time. This is because the Swamiji did not know
where to stop the compassion. In times of dire emergency,
where there is nobody else on the spot, we should try to do
our best to help that person in danger but to the extent just
required and not to get entangled further.
 15

Section 3
Meditation

In the course of dhyana or meditation, mixed with bhakti,

there are two possibilities:

1. To praise the exalted Lord through hymns of praise or

do the japa of Guru mantra, etc. either in a low tone with
one’s lips or loudly that all can hear.
2. The second course is to perform the japa of the Lord in
silent meditation in the mind.

The word stava used in the verse may represent normally

the various hymns of praise which have been composed by
various maharshis and mahatmas like Adi Sankara and may
also by an extension refer to the japa of a mantra. Mantras
are certain potent sacred syllables by chanting which the
various maharshis had the direct vision of their personal
God like Durga, Siva, etc. and these mantras are to be taken
by following a rite called deeksha from the Guru. These
mantras are to be held secret and repeated several times for
atleast ten hours a day [initially for want of time, the persons
do the japa only some 108 to 1008 times per day]. The japa
has been dealt more elaborately in the book called Patanjali
Yogasutra. There are three methods of doing the japa. The
best method is to do the japa mentally so that nobody can
hear it. For some people, when this process is difficult,
they are allowed to do it less silently by only twisting the
tongue and pronouncing the mantra in such a low voice like
a murmur that others, even if they are sitting in the lap of the
16 Section 3 - Meditation

person cannot hear it at all. This is called upamsu japa. This

is one hundred times less effective than chanting mentally.
People who cannot do even this, may chant it loudly but it
is one hundred times less effective than even upamsu japa.
This loud pronunciation is called vaikhari and it is a spent
cartridge with very little effect. Hence, when Bhagavan
Ramana used the phrase, “Loudly and slowly”, this is more
applicable to the japa of a mantra5 than to the hymns of
praise which are normally to be done aloud only and there
is no specific prescription for it. In japa, only if it is done
silently, we will be able to lapse into a deep silence where all
thoughts will disappear and the mind will be automatically
demolished and ultimately the Self alone will remain, thus
leading us to Self realisation. This is the reason why japas
are advised to be done mentally. On the contrary, the hymns
of praise can be chanted loudly in any manner we like and
it is not prescribed that it must be done in a low voice or
loudly only. Thus, japa itself leads to the deep meditation
and finally to the state of samadhi where the awareness of
the body disappears and the Self alone remains. The more
internal our sadhana, the more effective it is. Hence it is
said that the japa takes you inward and is far better than
any hymns of praise. That is why Bhagavan Ramana calls
the silent japa as the best method of meditation. Meditation
means constant attention on the Self with single mindedness.

Even in this meditation, a continuous meditation for

hours together is far superior to meditation done at broken
intervals. It takes time for the mind to settle down from its
5
Mantras can be done in three different ways, i.e. mental, twisting the tongue in
silence and loudly. Hence, the phrase applies to mantras.
 Section 3 - Meditation 17

diverse thoughts while being engaged in the world. Hence,

when you sit for meditation, suddenly the mind will not
subside. It takes time for it to settle down and then to get
into the silent plane deeper and deeper, and to finally abide
in the Self. It might even take years of practice. Hence, the
longer the time of continuous meditation, the earlier the
chances of our realisation of the Self. Otherwise time will
be lost every time you withdraw yourself from the world
and sit for meditation, to bring back the mind to concentrate
on the Lord and to reach the deep layers of meditation.
Continuously meditating on the Self is like an unbroken
flow of ghee poured over in a fire sacrifice or like the flow
of a river [flowing towards the sea]. A question arises how
effortless meditation can ever be done. Where there is love,
there is a spontaneous continuous attraction and the mind
will be all the time thinking about the beloved. For instance,
a woman who is expecting to meet her paramour in the
evening will be thinking of him only throughout the time
when she is cooking or doing other works at home. Here
the mind becomes effortless in the continuous thinking of
the paramour. Hence, it is my firm opinion that if only one
develops deep love for the Supreme Lord then automatically
effortless meditation will take place.

Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi goes progressively up in the

ladder of the union with the Lord starting from Karma yoga
and now he is reaching a stage of meditation of soham [‘I am
That’] which is of a high level. This requires a background
of philosophy. We normally think that the Atman or Self
is inside the body. These are all notions. The Atman is all
18 Section 3 - Meditation

pervading and hence both inside and outside the body. The
body is just like a water bottle kept drowned inside the
Ganges. The water is not only inside the water bottle but
also outside it. How does this happen? In the ultimate reality,
the Atman alone remains and there is no time or space at that
time. The Atman is beyond time as it is beginningless and
endless. As it is everywhere, it is beyond space. The space
and time are its creation. When once the water has come
inside the water bottle, it begins to think that it is separate
from the Ganges as it has been separated by a water bottle.
This water bottle is just like our own body. When once the
water has come inside the bottle, it begins to think that the
bottle is part of itself and a separate ‘I’ is created which is
called the ego. Similarly, if there are hundred water bottles,
even though it is the same water which is in all of them,
because of the separateness of the bottle, the water in each
bottle begins to develop an ego of its own. The same thing
happens with reference to the bodies that even though all
the bodies are occupied or pervaded by the same Self, each
soul in each body begins to think that it is separate from
the universal totality called God or Self. This ego follows
us even in our meditation so that in the earlier stages we
the meditators feel that we are separate from the object of
meditation, namely the Self. This sort of meditation with an
attitude of duality and separateness from the Lord belongs
to an inferior type. If only we can meditate on soham, i.e.
‘I am That’, where the individual soul is able to completely
identify itself with that universal totality, this method is far
better than the meditation with duality and is considered as
more purifying. Naturally, when the individuality is lost and
 Section 3 - Meditation 19

merged with the Self, the ego is lost which is a sine qua non
for moksha. In the final analysis, the truth of that universal
totality called God is the truth of myself, the individual.
Here we should note that soham is not to be repeated like a
japa. One has to meditate abiding in his heart in the Self and
considering oneself as zero and keeping the Self alone as
being the only existence. This means that one is identifying
oneself with the Ultimate and this type of meditation is far
superior.

This sort of soham meditation wherein one is firmly

established in the abidance in the Self, with absolutely no
thoughts in the mind [the mind having been annihilated], is
also considered as the best type of devotion [bhakti]. Infact
bhakti has been defined in the ancient text books like Narada
Bhakti Sutra as supreme love. What is this Supreme Love,
how does it differ from the ordinary love? The ordinary love
at the base level is based on the mutual body attraction of
the lover and the beloved where the bodies want to become
one. The better type of love will be where the minds of the
lovers coincide where they like similar dishes for eating,
similar scenery, similar poems and fiction, etc. For instance,
when the lover exclaims, “see how beautiful is the peak
of the Himalayas seen yonder” the other party says, “Aye,
you have snatched away my words. I was about to tell the
same thing.” This is the second type of love. Still superior
is the love where one of them does not retain his separate
identity but completely merges with the lover which may
be called as full surrender too. Kabir, a devotee poet says,
“The lovers lane is so narrow that two people cannot be
20 Section 3 - Meditation

accommodated in it.” So this type of meditation where we

identify ourselves completely with the Self is tantamount to
a complete surrender to the Self and merging with the Self.
Hence, it can be rightly called the highest type of love called
bhakti or devotion. One can reach a stage of remaining
without thoughts only when the mind has been annihilated.
This stage can be reached by daily practice of trying to sit
without thoughts for an hour or so. This stage can also be
reached when the mind is continuously made to abide in the
Self without any other thoughts. This also has a precondition
that unless our deep interest in our wife, in our office, in
our money, in our possessions, etc. completely dies out and
we have no more interest in them, the mind cannot easily
be turned towards the Self without any other thought. Jalal
Rumi, the great sufi saint as also the Bible aver that, “Be still
and know that you are God.” Even Bhagavan Ramana has
told in one of his talks that there is no difference between a
true jnani and a true devotee. Thus, ultimately to meditate
continuously on soham is an excellent meditation. In the
second portion of this work, after verse number 15, Ramana
Maharshi would found mainly expounding on koham
vichara, i.e. Self enquiry as to “Who am ‘I’”.

The ultimate sadhana as well as the destination of Self

enquiry is to abide in Self as Self alone in a firmly established
manner. This is done by concentrating on the spiritual heart
which is a term that Ramana Maharshi has been fond of
talking repeatedly. Actually speaking, the Self is everywhere
and it is not a question of any particular place in the body.
But the spiritual heart is supposed to be the center of spiritual
 Section 3 - Meditation 21

experiences. It is well known that we are not the body but

the energy inside it which makes us talk, walk, joke, hear,
see, smell, etc. Initially, we are conceived as a flesh gel in
the fallopian tubes of the mother. It slowly descends into the
womb and begins to form the container, namely the body. It
is in the fourth week that the energy enters into the womb
and finally into the body. The point through which the energy
has entered the body is called the spiritual heart according
to my knowledge. The mind may temporarily abide in the
Self for a little while and again come out to think of worldly
things but by continuous practice for a long time, the mind
disappears forever and the Self alone remains. This is our
original nature and is reached by karma yoga [the yoga of
action], bhakti yoga [the yoga of devotion] and also bodha
[the path of knowledge]. Hence, when once we abide in
our Self firmly, it is the same as all these yogas. We finally
reach a state of permanently abiding in the Self as a result of
repeated practice.
22

Section 4
Breath Control [Prānāyāma]

Now Bhagavan Ramana proceeds to explain the method of

controlling the mind through prānāyāma, i.e. the control of
the breath. There are many sadhaks who think that the Self
realisation can be reached by prānāyāma alone. Bhagavan
Ramana is not very much in favour of prānāyāma as a
method by itself to attain the Lord. The principle behind the
prānāyāma can no doubt be used to demolish the mind totally
[mano nasa]. Prānāyāma is a method where the breath is
controlled in a systematic manner by inhaling at a particular
speed, by retaining it [called kumbhaka] for a specified
period and exhaling it. When thus the breath is retained in
the heart, the mind also gets subsided. This is explained by
an example. A hunter is after a flying bird. It is not so easy
to control the bird and catch it in his hand. So he spreads a
big net with a few grains thrown on it. Out of greed when
the bird comes to the net, it gets entangled in it and cannot
leave. In the same manner as the bird caught by the net, the
prānāyāma becomes a way to control the mind.

The attribute of the mind is the power of recognising, i.e.

to become aware of the objects of the world. For instance,
the eyes can only see a form but it cannot recognise it as an
elephant or a horse. It only passes on the form or the figure
it sees to the mind and it is the mind which recognises it as
an elephant or a horse with the help of the archives it has.
Thus, the mind becomes aware of the elephant or the horse
 Section 4 - Breath Control [Prānāyāma] 23

and begins to think. This capacity to recognise and think is

called ‘chit’. It is awareness.

As far as the pranas are concerned [which are five in number

called as vyana, udana, samana, apana and prana] known
as vital elan, they are responsible for all action. It is with
the help of the power of prana that food is digested and we
lift our hands and feet, etc. Hence, action is the attribute of
the prana which is manifested from the breath. When it is
questioned as to what is the relationship between the mind
and the prana, it will be found that both stem from the same
source of power and simply branch out as two, i.e. chitta and
prana. By controlling the one, the other can be automatically
controlled. For instance, when we are seeing attentively a
suspense serial in the television, till the final conclusion
comes in that serial, our breathing also stops along with our
deep one pointed mental attention. When the serial ends, we
heave a big sigh indicating that so far the breath had also
stopped along with the mind. This is because the power
source for both of them is the same. Now the question which
arises is as to how is this fact useful in our meditation or
the process of sadhana in reaching the final reality. This is
discussed in the next section.
24

Section 5
Subsidence and Annihilation of Mind

When the mind stops along with the breathing process, it

results in either of the two different things namely the
temporary absorption of the mind called ‘laya’ or thorough
destruction of the mind, i.e. destruction of all the thoughts
forever - called ‘nasa’. The difference is that ‘laya’ being
a temporary subsidence of the mind, it gets revived again
and all thoughts including the ego prosper. These vasanas
continue to guide our action in our present birth and thus
‘laya’ by itself is of no use. To illustrate the nature of laya,
there is a story. A sage, while talking to his disciples, called
for a cup of water to quench his thirst. Before the disciple
could come with the water, he went into deep ‘laya’ Samadhi
which lasted a thousand years. He was abandoned by the
disciples and was carried hither and thither by wind and
water. After nearly thousand years when his place was
flooded by rain waters and he woke up, he found himself
sitting on the sands of a river. The first thing which came
out of his mouth was, “Aye, where is the drinking water that
I had called for?” Thus, this shows that laya does not result
in any practical help. When one comes out of it, he is the
same person in all aspects as he was before the samadhi.
All the thoughts and all the vasanas get revived. On the
contrary, it is the complete destruction of the mind which is
useful for us and will take us to the ultimate goal. When the
mind through constant practice gets completely destroyed
forever all thoughts including the ‘I’ thought, namely the
ego dies. When the individuality called ‘I’ is gone, the
 Section 5 - Subsidence and Annihilation of Mind 25

universal Self alone remains and that is the stage of moksha.

No doubt, except for saying the aforesaid fact regarding
mano nasa or destruction of the mind or annihilation of
the mind, Bhagavan Ramana does not expatiate fully on
how to attain the mano nasa [he has just touched on this
point] as his purpose was only to take a person to the one
pointed meditation of the Self or the Self enquiry. Here, I am
tempted to cite an interesting episode. One gentleman was
sent by Mahatma Gandhi to Swami Sarnanandaji Maharaj of
Brindavan who was born blind in both eyes but a jivanmukta
in his own right. Mahatma Gandhi had sent his devotee
with a recommendation that, “Please help this gentleman;
he has a question to ask.” The gentleman put this question,
“Maharaj, it is told that the mind should be destroyed in
full [mano nasa]. How to destroy the mind?” Sarnanandaji
Maharaj exclaimed, “You are coming from Mahatma Gandhi
and talking of violence, i.e. destruction. Do not annihilate
the mind but do what Gandhi has said. Gandhi has told we
should have non-violent non-cooperation; so you refuse to
conform to the mind’s advice. You say to the mind, ‘I am
sorry, I will not do what you want’.”

The point is when the breath is stopped, either laya

[subsidence] can take place or nasa [destruction] can take
place. It has been already mentioned that laya is of no use
as the mind gets revived again after some time with all its
vasanas and desires. Then, the question is what is the use
of laya at all? There is a method by which the laya can be
converted into mano nasa or destruction of the mind. When
once the mind has completely subsided and due to control
26 Section 5 - Subsidence and Annihilation of Mind

of the breath by stopping it in kumbhaka, you try to think of

only one thing, the Self or the Lord. The continuous thinking
of that one Supreme entity results automatically into the
destruction of the mind. Think of the One, again you repeat
it. Thus the single minded concentration on the ultimate truth
results in the destruction of the mind and thus it will lead us
to our natural state of being, i.e. as satchidananda.

In this connection, an interesting episode in the life of

Bhagavan Ramana is worthy of narration. Once a Kashmiri
Pandit came to see Bhagavan all the way from Kashmir
and began to talk to Bhagavan in Hindi. All the people
who were present at that time there laughed and told the
Kashmiri Pandit that none in the Asramam knew a word
of Hindi and Bhagavan was no exception. The Kashmiri
Pandit expressed surprise over that as Hindi was the national
language and talked for a little while in English. At about
11 O’ clock, Bhagavan asked the Pandit to go to the town
and have his meals, as in those days meals were not served
in the Asramam. The Panditji went away and immediately
the servant of the Pandit, a Kashmiri villager who knew no
language other than Kashmiri came and prostrated before
Bhagavan with a distressed face and began to pour out all
his troubles in his household, etc. before Bhagavan in pure
Kashmiri as he did not know Hindi even. After about twenty
minutes, he stopped for a while when Bhagavan was looking
at him unwaveringly for about twenty five minutes. The
servant boy with tears brimming in his eyes prostrated before
Bhagavan again and again and all the people present thought
that the servant boy got the solution for all his problems from
 Section 5 - Subsidence and Annihilation of Mind 27

Bhagavan Ramana through mental communication perhaps.

In the afternoon, the Pandit came straight to Bhagavan
Ramana and with anger in his eyes tiraded against Bhagavan
saying, “You are a cheat. You are a deceitful person. You are
a liar. It was told that you never knew Hindi but my servant
boy says that you talked to him for twenty five minutes in
chaste Kashmiri while you pretended to me as if you did not
know any language other than Tamil and a little smattering
of English." Everybody in the audience laughed and told the
Pandit that, “Bhagavan never talked one word and we were
present at the time your servant boy talked to him. Bhagavan
was only looking at him for twenty five minutes and he got
all the solutions to his personal problems. Only after reading
this episode I was able to understand a saying of Buddha.
In my young days I was reading an English translation of
a Chinese version of the various episodes in Buddha’s life.
After enlightenment Buddha had travelled far and wide and
had been giving lectures in various places both morning and
evening. Just two or three years before his final nirvana he
called his favourite disciple Ananda and told him, “Ananda,
believe me when I say that in all my lifetime so far after
enlightenment, I have never walked a single step and I have
never spoken a single word.” This was a puzzle to me which
was unravelled only after I read the aforesaid episode in
Bhagavan Ramana’s life. This shows that it is a fact that a
jivanmukta whose mind has been destroyed has nothing to do
in this world and does nothing. But many of them are found
to be engaged in various types of social service activities,
etc. This is because it is only the other spectators in the
world, out of their deep delusion of maya, saw things which
28 Section 5 - Subsidence and Annihilation of Mind

never happened. They saw Buddha talking and walking but

nothing happened. He was actionless. Thus we can see that
in reality, a jivanmukta [a man who is liberated while alive]
does not have any duties or actions to do in this world but
the onlookers see him engaged in various activities while it
was never true for various factors beyond the knowledge of
an ordinary person.

When the mind is once for all destroyed, then the person is
considered as one of the best of yogis. When once the mind
is lost forever, all the thoughts go, all thoughts include the
ego which also goes. When the ego goes, when the mind
is empty of thoughts [one reaches a thoughtless state], then
the ‘I’ is the state where we remain in our own natural state.
Such a person, having attained his natural state has nothing
left for him to lose in this world. Even though this is the
ultimate truth, a jivanmukta [the one who attains liberation
while alive] is still found in actual spirit to be engaged in
some work or the other at that time. This has been explained
by Ashtavakra in the following manner:

“A leaf had fallen from the tree and had become absolutely
dried and shrunk in every way devoid of all moisture. It
cannot go anywhere. When once the big tornado comes, the
leaf is blown off a good distance away from its original place.
Similarly, even though a jivanmukta is actionless, when the
entire cosmic wind is blowing, in the form of running of the
world [sansara], this jivanmukta also is wafted away. Thus
the action happens at the universal level while it appears to
the onlooker as if it is taking place at the individual level.”
 Section 5 - Subsidence and Annihilation of Mind 29

When once all the self is withdrawn from all perceptions

of the outside world, then, the mind is concentrated6 on
the Self alone. Then we remain as the witness without any
objects and this is the direct vision of the Ultimate Reality.
In this connection, it can be mentioned about a very highly
reputed philosopher who has also put forward a method of
choiceless perception which can lead to our being identified
with the Self. A person may go to the terrace in the upstairs
and sit in solitude. All around him is the greenery containing
several flower pots with plants grown using the art of bonsai.
The main perception now is through the eye. His eyes
should see the totality and not choose or select a particular
plant and exclaim, “Oh, this is the same sapling I had put
three days back. How big it has grown.” Here, among the
objects of totality, you have chosen one and your mind is
running in that direction. Similarly, the second perception,
is hearing of various noises in the street through the ear. A
neighbouring lady is playing on the piano, some music in
the opposite shop is glaring, two people are quarrelling in
the street and one is beating the other, a child is wailing and
weeping. He recognises the voice of the child which is his
own sister’s child. He exclaims, “How careless these ladies
are? The child has been weeping for a long time and nobody
bothers to pacify and take it inside the house.” Thus, he has
chosen this one noise of the child among all the noises and
his mind will be engaged in it further. He will have no peace
of mind. Hence, all our senses should be concentrated on the
entire totality of perception whether it be the noise or various
sights or various kinds of smell, etc. In that case, a stage
will come when we will forget ourselves. When the mind
becomes void, our entire ego will be gone.
6
This would mean the self concentrating on the Self. This means to remain as the
Self without contemplating on anything, without chanting or thinking of God,
etc.
30

Section 6
Self-enquiry - Vichara Marga

As Bhagvan Ramana path is vichara marga, i.e. Self enquiry,

a part of jnana marga, half of the book is devoted only for
that path. When one persists in searching as to what is the
source of the mind and what actually is the mind made of, it
will be found that ultimately there is nothing called the mind
at all. The mind is not an organ like the ear or the eyes. It is
only a bundle of thoughts. The thoughts belong to the past.
When we recall them, it is called memory. So ultimately,
the impressions of thoughts, past and present, etc. are only
called the mind. Vichara Marga is considered as the direct
path. When once the body is born, the universal soul which is
spread everywhere including in all the bodies begins falsely
to consider the body as its own and an ego is created called
‘I’ which includes the body. This ‘I’ is the first thought. The
ego, namely ‘I’ is the very mind. The first impressions in the
mind bring the ego. When the mind becomes thoughtless,
the ‘I’ goes and all thoughts go. When all thoughts go there
is no mind left. The mind was only an imagination and when
we begin to search for its source, we will find that there is
nothing called the mind at all and the mind has disappeared.
Even though Bhagavan Ramana gives a lot of importance
to Self enquiry, he has also firmly added a note of stern
warning which is ignored by many. He has emphasised that
this path is meant only for those ‘Pakwees’ i.e. people who
have spiritually advanced in their maturity. Everybody in his
ego is tempted to think that the path being so easy, he is
entitled to practice this path. And once you get some small
 Section 6 - Self-enquiry - Vichara Marga 31

experiences like the astral travel while asleep or producing

certain objects like small idols of God, etc. from an empty
hand, etc. they are well satisfied that they have reached their
goal. Unfortunately, these siddhis are not connected with
any spirituality at all and are on the contrary obstructions in
their path of progress in the spiritual path.

Throughout the night, one forgets himself and his designation,

family, etc. As soon as he gets up, the first thought that arises
is ‘I’ [that is Krishnamurty, Ramamurty, Sarala, etc.]. Soon
enough, all other thoughts will follow as for example, “Today
my uncle is coming from UK. I have to go to the airport to
pick him up and bring him” and, “Oh, there is a seminar at
4.00pm today. I have not yet prepared at all for the seminar”,
etc. Thus, all thoughts follow the ‘I’ thought and all these
thoughts become a bundle and is known as the mind. So that
is why, the ‘I’ thought or the ego itself is the mind. If only we
manage to remove the ‘I’ thought through concentrating on
the ultimate reality, we reach the goal immediately.

When we search inside the mind, as to wherefrom this ‘I’ has

started, we will find that there is no ‘I’ or ego at all. Hence,
the ‘I’ will vanish. This is called the Self enquiry or the atma
vichara.

When once the ego falls, you have something which will
replace the ‘I’. Otherwise, what is left will be a dead body
and there will be a void. To that, Bhagavan Ramana replies.
When once the ‘I’ known as ego [which considers the body
as oneself] attains destruction, then, the basic universal ‘I-I’
32 Section 6 - Self-enquiry - Vichara Marga

only remains. When once at dusk we see a rope and mistake

it for a serpent, the serpent is called a super imposition on
the rope. By the light of a torchlight, when the illusion of
the serpent goes, the base namely, the rope alone remains.
Hence, when the illusion of the ‘I’ goes, a continuous ‘I-
I’ which is also called the heart [hrid] which is the base
on which the ‘I’ was superimposed shines as the ultimate
existence called Self which is always fully plenary, i.e. it is
full in itself and nothing is wanting or nothing is needed. It
alone is. This is called poorna.

This uninterrupted continuous feeling of ‘I-I’ is the true

meaning of the term ‘I’. The other ‘I’ is narrowed by
limitation and is a superimposition only. It never existed at
any time. In the night, when you sleep deeply, you are not
aware who you are. There seems to be an absolute void. But
in the early morning when you get up, you say that you had
slept soundly. When you did not exist and had no external
consciousness at all, whoever told you that you had a good
sleep? This means there was a watcher on the tower keeping
vigil inside you while you were sleeping and not conscious
of the external. And that is the Self which never dies. It is
the universal Self which you narrow down to an individual
self which took over charge in the night. Hence, there is a
continuity of the Self which is consciousness itself and never
ceases to exist even when the ego or the individual ‘I’ is lost.
This true ‘I’ which is the only absolute reality which is
universal beyond all space and time is not the body nor the
senses nor the mind nor the breath nor our basic ignorance
of who we are. This body, senses, mind, etc. are all inert
 Section 6 - Self-enquiry - Vichara Marga 33

and have no energy to move by themselves. The Ultimate

Reality or the Self is the one which infuses the prana sakti
or the vital elan into us which in its turn enables us to lift, to
walk, to talk, to see, to hear, to smell, etc. The body and the
senses of the eye, the ear, the mind, the breath, etc. are after
all inert instruments which allow the Self to do the various
actions through them.

When we say that the ego goes it is replaced by the mere

being or existence known as the Self, how do we know that?
What is that reveals itself? The one that reveals its existence
is called awareness or chit. Here, there is no need for one
torchlight to reveal the other torchlight. The one torchlight
reveals itself also. Similarly, the Self reveals itself and it
does not require another chit or awareness to reveal it. In
other words, that which is exists, the Self that exists is aware
of its own existence. This Self awareness is called chit; the
sat and chit are not different and are one and the same. So
it is the chit in it which reveals the basic ‘I-I’ which is sheer
existence7.

God and individual soul look separate from each other

because God looks unlimited beyond time and space, etc.
while the jiva looks limited. The former is immortal and the
latter seems mortal. The former has got the full knowledge
while the jiva is imperfect. Thus God and jiva wear different
costumes in the same drama. This mortality, limitedness
are all called upadhis or limiting adjuncts. They are all only
costumes and different make up worn by the same actor who
7
In other words when you say sat and chit it is only for a purpose of differentiating
it for the person hearing them for the first time. The sat and chit are not separate.
34 Section 6 - Self-enquiry - Vichara Marga

enacts a double role. A child’s father acts as Ravana in a

drama. But the child who witnesses the drama cannot be
convinced that the Ravana in the stage and the father is one
and the same. He thinks that they are different. Similarly
there is only one Ultimate Reality. While we are dreaming
even though we are all alone, our thoughts project various
people who are none but ourselves. When we dream, all the
tigers in our dream were only in our thought and thought
is our own energy and hence all those dream figures are
only ourselves and have not been projected from elsewhere.
Similarly, this entire world and all the jivas in the dream
are only the thoughts of the Ultimate Reality. They are all
dreams which are superimposed on the Self. Hence, the
world and all the individuals [jivas] even though they look
to be separate with different characteristics are only one and
the same. If only we see them from the standpoint of the
essential nature of existence alone, both are existent and
never become non-existent. There can only be one existence
which is everywhere. It is because of our ignorance of our
nature as to who we are, that delusive duality looks real.

When once the various costumes of jiva and God are removed,
there is only the non-dual Self which has no attributes or
upadhis. This Self realisation is also known as God’s direct
vision or sakshatkar. Elsewhere in the text it has already
been told that the truth of God is the truth of our Self. When
the jiva becomes free from all conditioning and limitations,
the ego which is the same as the mind disappears forever.
When the superimposed ‘I’ goes, what remains is the pure
Self which is also known as God.
 Section 6 - Self-enquiry - Vichara Marga 35

We always speak of Self realisation or recognising the Self,

etc. What actually is the knowing of the Self and how can it
be done? There is only one Self and there are no two selves.
To remain in the Self or abiding in the Self or being the
very Self by identifying ourselves with that one non dual
existence is known as being established in the Self. This is
Self realisation. Thus, to become the Self, which is non-dual,
is known as abiding firmly in the Atman.

The Self which is called true knowledge is beyond knowledge

and beyond ignorance also. It is only pure awareness. As
there is only one Self as the Ultimate Reality, there is no
other knowledge to be known.

Through Self enquiry, when we search for our real nature,

and come face to face with the Self [by being the Self], we
are freed from both birth and death. We remain as the eternal
being and the ineffable bliss of awareness which is perfect
and full. It is only a dream where we think that we are born
and dying after having experienced various pleasures and
sufferings in this life and when the dream vanishes we find
that there is nothing but the Self. The jiva or the individual
soul attains the supreme bliss beyond bondage or freedom.
Both bondage and release were only dreams. Then the jiva
becomes one with the absolute divinity.

This text comes from the words of Bhagavan Ramana himself

as a result of immense austerities. The purpose of the entire
text is to instruct us as to how to remove the ego known as
‘aham’ and to make the ‘I-I’ which is the substratum of the
false ‘I’ or ego shine by itself as the only absolute reality.
The Self enquiry process itself represents great austerities
and because of that only, we reach the reality.
Part B:
 39

Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 1

Word Meaning
Ājnayā By the will
Kartuh of the Supreme God [the Ultimate Supreme
Being or the only Doer]
Phalam The fruit [of any of our actions]
Prāpyate Is obtained
Kim Is it that
Karma Action
Param Is Supreme? [to be Supreme it has to be a
conscious entity and not inert]
Tat Karma That action
Jadam Is after all insentient [inert]
40 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 2

Word Meaning
Patanakaranam It [action] is the cause of falling down
Kritimahodadhou Into the immense ocean of action [and
reaction]
Phalam [The] result of action [karma]
Asasvatam is non-permanent [or temporary]
Gatinirodhakam [Also] blocks the way [for the Ultimate
Goal, i.e. moksha or liberation]
 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning 41

Verse 3

Word Meaning
Isvararpitam If the action is offered as a dedication to
the Supreme Lord
Na kritam [And if the action] has not been done out
of
Icchaya Longing or desire for the fruit
Chittashodhakam [The same action becomes] a purifier or
a cleanser of our mind [which is full of
impurities and mainly the ego]
Muktisadhakam And also helpful in attaining moksha
[the final goal] indirectly
42 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 4

Word Meaning
Poojanam The ritualistic worship [of the Lord]
Japah Repeatedly chanting the mantra [the
one given by the Guru]
Chintanam Meditation on the Lord or continuously
thinking of Him [whether with form or
without form]
Kayavangmanah Done by the body, the speech and the
mind respectively [external instruments]
Karyam The [above mentioned] actions
Kramat Respectively in that order
Uttamam Are the best [the more internal the
instrument, the better]
 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning 43

Verse 5

Word Meaning
Isa-dhi-yukta- To serve [the world] looking upon it with
sevanam the attitude that it is the Lord Himself
who has manifested in the form of the
world
Jagatah The world [included in the previous
meaning]
Ashta-murti-bhrt- Is the same as serving the Lord directly
devapoojanam in the form of the world consisting of
eight constituents [namely the five
subtle elements (known as earth, water,
fire, air and space), the sun, the moon
and the jiva1 (individual soul)]

1
Jiva is put separately because it has the energy in it. The other elements are in
the nature of matter, while jiva is energy.
44 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 6

Word Meaning
Uttamastavat2 As compared to the loud singing of the
glories of the Supreme Lord [composed by
the erstwhile saints and known as stotras
or stavas]
Japadhyanam The chanting of the mantra and meditation
Chittajam Which generates from inside the mind
[silently]
Ucchamandatah Either loudly [or by only moving the
tongue so that nobody can hear the voice
(called upamsu chanting)]
Uttamam Is the best [from the result point of view].
Note: The subtler the sadhana, the better.
Taking the names loudly is less effective
than meditation.

2
Here Uttama means God as he is the Supreme of all entities.
 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning 45

Verse 7

Word Meaning
Saralachintanam Uninterrupted continuous thinking
[meditation of the Lord]
Ajya3-dharayā Is like the continuous uninterrupted flow
samam of ghee in a fire sacrifice
Srotasa [samam] Or like the continuous flow of water in a
river
Param Is far better than
Viralatah The broken meditation done at various
intervals [after several intervals]

3
Ajya means the name of a special ghee used in fire sacrifice and not any normal
ghee. Ghrita means ordinary ghee. Ajya means the ghee set out for fire sacrifice.
46 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 8

Word Meaning
Bhedabhavanat As compared [to meditation], based on the
duality of the meditator and the Lord, i.e.
the object of meditation as separate from
each other
Sohamiti “I am that” attitude
Asau This type of
Abidha bhavana Meditating without any difference, i.e. non-
dually [not considering Lord, the object of
meditation as different or separate from
oneself i.e. the meditator]
Mata Is considered
Pavani As sacred or purifying
 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning 47

Verse 9

Word Meaning
Bhava-soonya- To remain firmly established or to
sadbhava-sussthitih abide firmly [in the Self] in the sheer
existence and not having any thoughts
whatsoever4
Uttama [Is]The best
Bhaktihi Bhakti or devotion in the form of the
most intense love for the Lord
Bhavanabalat Because of the immense power of such
a deep contemplation5 .

4
To remain rooted in our ‘am-ness’ bereft of any thoughts whatsoever is
considered by Ashtavakra as an instant moksha capsule.
5
According to Ramana, to remain thoughtless but rooted to the sense of ‘am-
ness’ is considered as bhakti yoga. Even according to Adi Sankara, to remain in
our original nature is devotion.
48 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 10

Word Meaning
Manah-swasthata To keep the mind abiding in its own
nature or Self
Hrtsthale In the region of the heart
Kriya Is the yoga of action
Bhakti-yoga- Is itself devotion, yoga [the path founded
bodhah cha by Patanjali] as also jnana or the method
of knowledge. In other words, this itself
is the yoga of action, yoga of Patanjali,
the devotional path or bhakti yoga
elaborated by Sandilya and Narada as
also the path of final knowledge [jnana
marga].
Nischitam [This is] the final conclusion [of the
scriptures].
 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning 49

Verse 11

Word Meaning
Vayu-rodhanat By the method of controlling the breath
Manah The mind
Leeyate Subsides or gets absorbed temporarily
[this is different from the required
destruction of the mind in its entirety]
Jala-pakshi-vat Just like a net spread to catch a bird
Rodha-sadhanam [It] Is a means for controlling the mind
50 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 12

Word Meaning
Chitta-vayavah6 The mind and the breathing [inhalation
and exhalation]
Chit-kriya-yutah Have the functions of:
• awareness of the objects and
• activity respectively
Shakayor-dvayee Constitute the two branches
Sakti-moolaka Coming out of the same stem and hence
based on the same identical power which
functions in both.

6
Vayu always means air and here it refers to the process of breathing.
 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning 51

Verse 13

Word Meaning
Ubhaya-rodhane While applying both the methods of
control of the mind namely
Laya-vinasane [Laya] Temporary subsidence and [nasa]
the complete destruction of the mind
Layagatam The mind which has temporarily subsided
Punah Once again
Bhavati Comes up [and begins to function]
No mrtam But not at all the mind that is dead
[destroyed]

Note: In laya, the absorption of the mind is temporary and

after sometime, the mind begins to function fully. If it is
destroyed, it can no more be revived.
52 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 14

Word Meaning
Leena-manasam When once the mind has subsided [laya]
Adah This [mind]
Eka-chintanat7 By contemplating on the one non-dual
Ultimate Reality [Self]
Nasam-yeti Attains destruction
Prāna bandhanāt By controlling the breath [through
prānāyāma]

7
This is a method to convert laya [an obstruction] into nasa [destruction].
 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning 53

Verse 15

Word Meaning
Nashta-manasa- For that yogi of a high level whose
utkrsta-yoginah mind has been destroyed
Kim-krityam What remaining action
Asthi Is left [to be done]
Yatah Because
Swasthitim [gatah] [He remains established in] his own
natural state
54 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 16

Word Meaning
Atmanah-chittam When once the mind of oneself
Drsya-varitam Is withdrawn from all perceptions,
namely, seeing, hearing, smelling, etc.
Chittva-darsanam It directly results in one’s coming
directly face to face with mere
awareness [without any objects]
Tattva-darsanam It is also the direct vision or realisation
of the ultimate truth namely the Self
[which may be called as Brahman or
God]
 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning 55

Verse 17

Word Meaning
Margane krte When once we make a deep search
through enquiry
Manasam tu kim What is the nature of this mind?
Manasam na-eva No mind exists
Marge Because the path [is]
Arjavat Simple and direct
[This is the direct path for quelling the mind.]
56 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 18

Word Meaning
Tu But
Vrttayah All the thoughts
Asritah Are dependent upon
Aham vrittim The [‘I’] thought [i.e. ego]
Manah The mind [hence,]
Vrittayo Is constituted only as a bundle or aggregation
of thoughts
Viddhi Understand [that]
Aham The ego [individuality]
Manah is the mind
Note: From ‘Aham’ [i.e. ‘I’] thought g All thoughts [i.e.
the mind] arises. So Aham thought = ego = mind
 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning 57

Verse 19

Word Meaning
Ayam This
Aham I [ego]
Kutah Bhavati Wherefrom has it come
Ayi Oh!
Chinvatah For the one who searches and enquires
[about the source]
Aham This I [ego]
Patati Falls down [vanishes]
Nija-vicharanam [This is] Self enquiry
58 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 20

Word Meaning
Ahami When the ego [the individual ‘I’]
Nasabhaji Is destroyed
Parama-poorna-sat The transcendental plenary existence
[i.e. the Ultimate Reality called the
Self]
Hrit [Which is also known as] the heart
Sphurati Shines
Swayam By itself
Aham-ahamtaya In the form of ‘I-I’ [the universal Self
is called the ‘I’]
 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning 59

Verse 21

Word Meaning
Anwaham Everyday
Idam This
Aham-pada- [Ego] which is known by the term ‘I’
abhikhyam [vanishes during sleep].
Ahami Thus even when the ‘I’, called ego,
Leenake api has completely subsided, it continues to
remain in another form
Alaya sattaya As the ultimate existence which has always
been remaining without destruction as
the ‘I’ ‘I’ ‘I’ consciousness [the real Self
which is also called as ‘I’ in the ultimate
analysis] over which the narrow ego called
‘I’ had been superimposed.
60 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 22

Word Meaning
Na-aham I am not
Vigraha-indriya- The body, the senses, the vital elan
prana-dhee-tamah known as prana, the mind or ignorance
Ekasat [I am] the one non-dual existence or
Ultimate Reality
Tat jadam That body, senses, etc. mentioned above
are all insentient [jada]
Hi asat is only non existent [like the object of a
dream which has no real existence]
 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning 61

Verse 23

Word Meaning
Sattvabhasika When the consciousness makes us aware
of the mere existence [being]
Kva-va-itarachit Where then can be another consciousness
or awareness apart from the existence
Sattaya hi The very existence only
Chit Is awareness of the Self also8
Aham ‘I’ [am revealed, i.e. my existence is
revealed]
Chittaya by the awareness. Thus ‘I’, the existence
is revealed by Chit [awareness] and the
awareness can be there only if something
exists. Hence, sat is chit and chit is sat.

8
If I am aware of my existence, it is only because something exists and that
existence only comes to me as an awareness that ‘I am’. Existence is awareness
and awareness is existence. Without the one there cannot be the other.
62 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 24

Word Meaning
Veshadibhida Because of the different garbs [costumes]
worn by
Eesa-jivayoh The Supreme Lord [the Self] and the
individual self [the one being immortal
and the other mortal, the one having
unlimited knowledge and the other having
limited knowledge, etc. are the different
costumes worn; we think that these two
are different].
Sat-swabhavatah When seen from the viewpoint of their
essential nature [it is the Self who is also
called the Supreme Lord].
Vastu Kevalam They constitute only one truth namely the
ultimate existence [the jiva also in reality
exists forever and the Self also being
permanent exists for ever. They are just
like the Ganges water in the river and in
individual water bottles].
 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning 63

Verse 25

Word Meaning
Veshahanatah By the removal [by proper enquiry]
of the respective garbs worn by the
Lord and the jiva [individual soul]
Swatma-Darsanam The Ultimate Self of each alone is
directly seen [as the Self is existence
and the Lord and jiva are also finally
resolved to existence]
Swatma-rupatah Because of [the identical nature,
namely existence] the Lord and the
jiva being in the form of one Self.
Eesa darsanam Is also the direct vision of the Supreme
Lord Himself.
64 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 26

Word Meaning
Atmasamstithi To abide in the Self is
Swatma-darsanam The same as coming face to face with
one’s own Self [is a direct vision].
Atmanirdayat As there are no two selves – one the
seer self and one the seen self
Atmanishtata To abide in one’s own Self, i.e. one
has to remain as the Self itself.
 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning 65

Verse 27

Word Meaning
Ajnana-hinachit The Self awareness is that knowledge
which9 is free from ignorance and
Jnana-virjitaa Also bereft of the knowledge of the
objects
Jnanam asti kim Is there a knowledge
Jnatum-antaram Other than this [different from this] to be
known

9
The Self knowledge is the only knowledge to be known. There is no meaning
in knowing anything else.
66 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 28

Word Meaning
Kim swaroopam iti By inquiring as to what is the essential
nature of the Self in this manner
[aforesaid in previous verses]
Atma darsane When Self knowledge dawns,
Avyaya-abhava- An ecstasy of bliss takes place which
apoorna-chit- is inexhaustible, unborn, ever plenary
sukham and Self awareness [chit]10

10
When Self knowledge comes, the Self itself is the awareness which is also the
final bliss. The Supreme Lord is called Sat-Chit-Ananda i.e. existence-awareness
and bliss.
 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning 67

Verse 29

Word Meaning
Daivikaha jivah The individual when endowed with divine
virtues [as a result of intense Self enquiry]
Iha tu Here and now only
Vindathi Attains
Param sukham A transcendental happiness
Bandha-mukti- Which is beyond bondage and liberation
atitam
68 Part B: Original Sanskrit Text with Meaning

Verse 30

Word Meaning
Iyam-Ramana-vak These words of Ramana
Aham-apetakam Destroy the ego [‘I’] forever
Nijavibhanakam Makes the Self shine
Idam mahat tapah And this is the greatest austerity
 69

List of books by Swami Shantananda Puri

A. Books in relation to Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi

Swami Shantananda Puri has written over 30 books. Of the
books written by him, some are commentaries or explanations
on books recommended by Bhagavan Ramana himself or the
books containing his teachings. The list of such books is:
1. Selected gems from Ashtavakra Gita
2. Instant self - Awareness: Talks on Ashtavakra Gita
3. The Quantum Leap into the Absolute: Essence of
Ashtavakra Gita
4. Sadhanas from Devi Kalottara
5. Sadhanas according to Tripura Rahasyam
6. Sadhanas from Ribhu Gita
7. Sadhanas according to Yoga Vasishta
8. Sadhanas from Vivekachudamani
9. Gita Sarah
10. Golden guidelines to "Who am ‘I’?"
11. Sadhanas from Guru Vachaka Kovai
12. Sadhanas from Upadesa Saram

B. Other Books written by Swami Shantananda Puri

1. Srimad Bhagavatam: Its message for the Modern Man

2. A Treasure Trove of Prayers from Srimad Bhagavatam
3. A quintessence of Uddhava Gita
4. Fragrant Flowers
70 List of books by Swami Shantananda Puri

5. Musings of a Himalayan Monk

6. Sadhanas from Adhyatma Ramayanam
7. Sadhanas in Bhagavad Gita
8. Gita's Sthita Prajna Darshan - A crash course for Moksha
9. The Ecstacy of Love Divine: Essence of Narada Bhakti
Sutra
10. Jivan Mukti - Liberation - Here and Now
11. Sadhanas from Kaivalyopanishad
12. Sadhanas from Kenopanishad
13. Answers to basic spiritual questions of Sadhaks
14. Living Happily Forever
15. Sri Lalita Sahasranama Stotram: An Insight
16. Infallible Vedic Remedies
17. Stories for Meditation
18. Stories for Inspiration
19. Quintessence of Practical Sadhana - Thoughts for the
morning
20. Sri Shiva Sahasranama Stotram (As per Linga Purana)

All the above books and other articles written by Swami

Shantananda Puri from time to time are available on the
website http://www.swamishantanandapurimaharaj.org/.
Many of these books are translated into Hindi and some of
the South Indian languages. Some of these translations are
available in the website mentioned above.