“Finding happiness
and being happy is not seeking happiness. A happy person need not, nor
does not seek happiness. He is already happy, or is in happiness.
So, what or where is the need or motivation to seek? When you seek pleasure
(or experiences you believe will bring you pleasure, or avoid or cushion
pain) then obviously you are coming from a present basis of suffering
– discomfort, upset, unpleasantness or threat to your well-being.
You are not happy, but rather you are seeking happiness. On
realizing the true Self-nature, which always, already is happiness,
you end your search for happiness.”
(Page 124)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“To know anything,
without knowing the knowing Self, is to know nothing.
“‘Non-Self’
knowledge does not exist, for there is no true knowledge in the non-Self.
The mind does not know; it is only recorded memory data of the past,
used as a pretension that this data is real Knowledge. Nor does the
ego know. It calls up the mind’s memory data of the past and presents
it to the self as being real knowledge. In the manner of a computer,
the ego and mind’s data are merely records, not true knowledge,
only the relationship of current events to old records or other data
of the past.
“The mind is a marvelous
mechanism of memory data, being a total record of the past,
the sensory thought patterns stored in the cells of the brain. But,
a record of thought patterns does not know. The concept filled mind
can only produce its system of beliefs, its recorded data to represent
knowledge. And, not only is the representation not true knowledge,
it veils and conceals the Truth. It is only information without self-conscious
intelligence.
“Only Self-consciousness
or the intelligence of Self-existence can know. Therefore, only the
Self knows; not books, the ego, the mind and its recorded data, or anything
‘other.’ Only con-sciousness knows, and Consciousness is
the Self. Only the Self knows.
“Truth comes out
of nothing (no-thing-ness), or pure Being.. This no-thing-ness is not
a ‘void’ but is the pure light and energy of Intelligence
itself, Consciousness itself, which is unchanging, eternal, infinite
and total Existence. This pure Consciousness-Existence is the fullness
of Pure Being (the Self) and is Pure Knowing.
“Truth is Pure Knowing,
and this Pure Knowing (like is said above) comes out of the clear space
of nothing. To further explain, the dictionary defines ‘nothing’
as ‘not a thing,’ meaning a ‘thing’ that is
not any thing as we are accustomed to things or would define as a thing.
This ‘no thing’ exists nowhere. The dictionary defines ‘nowhere’
as ‘not any place,’ meaning a ‘place’ that is
not any place as we are accustomed to places, or would define as a ‘place,’
and thus is everywhere. So, Pure Knowing comes out of nothing, which
is nowhere, and which means that everything known comes out of no thing.
Being nowhere, it is thus everywhere, meaning Pure Knowing is inclusive
of everything.
“That which is everything
and everywhere is the Source. Source is God, it is Self. Since I am
the source of everything in my life, I must be God, the Self. And, since
I am the Self and the Self is God. This means my own I AM is God. So,
God abides in me, as Me, the Self. This is like the wave is the ocean
and the ocean is the wave. The radical Realization and Understanding
of this is the Highest Truth. It was Jesus who said, ‘You
will know the Truth, and the Truth will make you free.’ This
conscious understanding frees me from the conflict and confusion of
ordinary daily life, and in this understanding or Pure Knowing, I awaken
to the eternal Reality, the Truth, my very Self-existence, which is
present happiness and joy.”
(Page 130-131)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Truth can be realized
only subjectively. It cannot be known in any objective sense. Yet, actually,
Truth is prior to both objectivity and subjectivity.
Truth is what is left when all objectivity and subjectivity, all non-Truth,
is removed. Concepts, beliefs, definitions and opinions are all non-Truth.
They are the past. Truth is now.
“Truth abides in and
as eternity. All descriptions, beliefs and definitions are in the dimension
of time. Truth is prior to time, prior to mind or thought. Descriptions,
beliefs and definitions are all thoughts or concepts in the mind, which
is in time. Therefore, what I believe, or know about,
is not the Truth.
“Truth is one; descriptions,
beliefs and definitions are many. Truth is Source. Out of Source (Truth)
all seeming truth arises, moves and returns; but Truth is not affected.
Truth can neither be added to nor subtracted from. That which can be
added to or subtracted from is not Truth, for Truth doesn’t change.
“Truth is Reality.
Reality does not change. That which changes is not Truth or Reality.
Truth is being responsible. Being responsible is being with whatever
is occurring (whatever is at hand) and owning it as your own. It is
the willingness to realize and know that you are the Source, the Cause
of everything that occurs on the screen of your awareness.”
[This remaining portion
or passage quoted from Ramana’s book is written in FIRST PERSON.
It is written as an affirmation to yourself, by yourself, about the
Self – i.e., the Self you really are is speaking to your mind.
Read these words as your own words to yourself!]
“Nothing that I am
aware of occurs outside of ‘my’ consciousness. The truth
is, I am consciousness. Therefore, everything that occurs is
occurring out of me, or out of my perception of it. This is the Truth.
As consciousness, I am the source and cause of everything that I am
conscious of occurring in my perceived world, which includes myself.
In Truth, I am even the cause and source of what appears to happen to
someone else, since it is also occurring in my world as I perceive it.
“There is no objective
reality to the world outside of, or independent of, my consciousness
of it. Since all I am aware of occurring in my world is occurring in
my consciousness, and since Consciousness is the Self, or I, then I
am the source and cause of everything, whether it is occurring or not
occurring in my space.
“It is the ‘I’-thought
or ego that gives rise to all that is occurring in my space as it appears
to be. But the ‘I’-thought or ego cannot arise apart from
the Self, which is its Source and Cause. Therefore, I am the source
and cause of all that appears in my space, including that which occurs
to others. But this does not mean that I am to be blamed for everything
negative that occurs in my space to others; nor am I to be appreciated
and congratulated for everything positive that occurs in my space to
others. What is occurring is just what’s occurring – as
it’s occurring. And it is occurring in my world; but only as I
see it occurring.
“When I fully realize
this, it is the Truth that sets me free from the circumstances of life.
‘You will know the truth and the truth will make you free.’
(John 8:32) This realization may not include removal or change of the
events of life themselves, but now their effect on me is changed. They
no longer upset, pain or hinder me as they may have in the past. Instead
they become merely events to be lived out, lived through or understood;
and to be replaced in time by other events in the ordinary, everyday
process of life.”
(Pages 128-129)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Back
to Inspirations from Arunachala Ramana