It seems that the previous Open Thread was getting too large. New comments were not appearing. Thanks to those who pointed this out to me. From now on, please continue your discussions here.
I propose to use this blog primarily to air my occasional musings on any matters relating to the life and teachings of Ramana Maharshi. There will also be occasional contributions about Arunachala, the sacred mountain where Sri Ramana spent all of his adult life.
Articles and interviews on these topics can also be found on my site: www.davidgodman.org.
Reply to thread Report comment Why is the mind wondering into illusion and denying the gift of his Beautiful extension. Who is it that points and the speck in his brothers eye but holds a heavy plank in his own eye. Let thine eye be Single. Namaste by Holy Brother
217. In a mind in which excellent tapas flourishes the power to punish other in diverse ways grows in abundance. However, the sole hall mark of true Jnana, which is divine in nature, is the possession of a simple nature, rich in love and grace.
That which is declared to be peace in the Heartward view is itself power in the outward view. To those who have inquired and known the Truth, the two are one and the same.
216. Those who declare that power and peace are different, as if they are independent of each other, do not know the truth of them as it really is. That which is extolled as peace through turning inwards to face the Self is seen as power, when the view is externalized.
215. The power of the Self is only the power of divine grace. Accordingly, there is no deed that cannot be successfully accomplished through the power of the Self. It is the squalid delusion that dances, taking the body as 'I', that makes some assert, 'What the power of the Self cannot accomplish, the strength of shoulder and sword can.'
214. The inner motive behind the Puranas assigning to Lord Siva items such as the bull, the serpent and the trident, as mount, ornament of weapon respectively, is to gradually engender in the people the vision that perceives all forms as the form of God, the substratum.
213. Through the inquiry 'Who am I?' the ego, the spurious version of consciousness, turns towards the Self and begins to get destroyed. When it reaches its birthplace, the Heart, it is destroyed completely. The fire of Atma Jnana catches and rages there, transforming totally the three worlds into a single mass of red light This fire is the symbolic significance of red kumkum.
212. Those who worship with devotion the reality that is Vibhuti will themselves mature into Vibhuti. Vibhuti is only the Atma Swarupa consciousness in which the ego has died. Wear that Vibhuti by loving Atma Swarupa and abiding as That.
211. Those who wear that vibhuti are unequaled in every way in this vast world. The pure being, the Vibhuti of Jnana, the thought free wonder, is indeed the inexhaustible supreme wealth.
210. God has manifested, assuming grace form of the Guru, the brahmin, to bestow the supreme benefit on devotees. The disciple's ego consciousness that flutters in fright in the world, like a deer caught in a net, is the cow dung. To bring about the total destruction of its form, the brahmin, utters unique word, not through gross speech but through transcendent speech. He kindles the fire of pure Jnana; he calcines it (the cow dung) in the holy place of the Heart. He bestows (the residue) with delight on the disciple, blessing him as follows:'May a life life wholly as Sivam flouish!' Such is Para Vibhti.
209. The Jiva is the form of ego, the spurious consciousness that has acquired the beginning-less mass of previous accumulated Vasanas, which are present in the Heart. The residue of sacred ash that remains merged in the Heart as Absolute Being when that form is burned and totally destroyed by the fire of Jnana is the true form of God's para (transcendent) Vibhuti.
Reply to thread Report comment I am sorry to read the above comment about Sri David Godman. Our experience has always been one of kindness, warmth, and willingness on his part to let us know about Bhagawan and his teachings. We thank Bhagawan for this.
208. You who condemn idol worship, without realizing its deep mystical significance through a heart that melts with love! How is it that you continuously worship as 'I' the idol which takes the form of inert body that parades itself in a false and illusory way?
207. The significance of the imperfect Jiva's namaskaram, when he places his proud head beneath the holy feet of his Master, is the subduing of the individual consciousness (Jiva bodham) that proclaims itself as 'I' and its subjugation by Siva consciousness (Siva bodham).
206. Once you have reached the intellectual understanding of non difference in which you know that the beautiful forms, which are deemed to be eight, are the forms of God, our Lord,then all worship offered in an appropriate way to them is exalted Siva Puja.
205. Markandeya fought and conquered death and attained the immortal state through Siva Puja he performed, thus living beyond life ordained for him, making unswerving fate err, and escaping from inescapable death. Hence, if anyone worships Siva, the killer of Yama, by inquiring with full awareness, then Yama's noose, which has the power to ensnare, without exception, all jivas, will in these exceptional cases, get frayed and cut and be unable to catch them.
204. You should be firmly convinced that the authentic Siva Puja is the state of profound peace in which, through thought free thought, one remains habitually and inseparably in harmony with Atma Swarupa, the fullness, the pure consciousness.
204.You should firmly convinced that the authentic Siva Puja is the state of profound peace in which, through thought free thought, one remains habitually and inseparably in harmony with Atma Swarupa, the fullness, the pure being consciousness.
203. The minds of devotees who are intoxicated with a boundless love for being are gopikas. The Heart that completely destroys the ego's dominance, in which the ruddy flame of a lamp attracts and destroys moths, is the Lord Krishna, the beloved of the gopikas.
202. By what attainment does the mind, through experiencing permanent supreme bliss, cease wandering around, seeking what is other than itself? It is Sivam, the Heart that bestows the ever new intense experience of Janan. That Sivam, is mind's delight.
201. The Jnana Sakti (the mind), which emerges and expands in the form of activity, cannot function at all independently of the Atma Swarupa,the absolute being. This Atma Swarupa,which is mere being and which exists as the primal source for everything, is indeed the pure Sivam, that resides in Chidambaram,the Hall of Consciousness.