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Upadesa Sara

Sloka 30

Austerity – A Means to Realization

The first three verses of Upadesa Sara were on Karma Yoga. Thereafter, till verse nine, Bhakti Yoga was expounded. Verse ten showed us the common goal of all Yogas. From verses eleven to sixteen, Ashtanga Yoga was described and finally, Jnana Yoga was elaborately discussed. To conclude his gracious teaching Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi explains the nature of supreme austerity.

aham-apetakam nija-vibhanakam,
mahad-idarh-tapo ramanavag-iyam.

aham – ahankara (ego); apetakam – devoid of; nija-vibhanakam – revealer of the  Self;  mahad – great;  ida – this Self-enquiry; tapo -penance; ramanavag – utterance  of Ramana; iyam – this (is);

This Self-enquiry, devoid of ego, is a great penance that is the revealer of the Self. This is the Self-realized Truth uttered by Sage Ramana.

 To gain various types of worldly results we need to perform different actions. Our experience shows that the higher the goal, the greater the effort required to achieve it. We, therefore, believe that the achievement of the Supreme would require superhuman effort.

Ignorance of the Self is the cause of all our problems. Actions can never remove ignorance. To attain supreme Happiness we have to know our true nature. Knowledge arises as a result of Self-enquiry which is itself a great penance. We cannot believe that the solution is so very simple and direct. From our Puranas and Itihasas (mystical literature and epics) we hear about sages who did severe penance for hundreds and thousands of years. By penance, we generally understand physical denial amounting to torture. Such austerity cannot give a person true joy and peace. Sometimes mental agitations increase due to the pressure of unfulfilled desires and also the egoistic notion of being a great ascetic is strengthened.

Mental work requires greater concentration and is, therefore, subtler and superior to physical action. Even in mental work, thinking about objects, their relationships, qualities, and events is easier than thinking about abstract ideas and concepts. Thinking about the source of thought, which is beyond thought, requires the greatest concentration. Self-inquiry is, therefore, the highest penance. This type of austerity destroys the ego rather than nourishing and fattening it. It reveals the pure Self.

Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi was a great Realized Master of our time. He wrote this wonderful text from the heights of Self-realization. His words therefore reveal the same Truth declared in the Upanisads. Our prostrations to this great, noble, and divine Soul.

We pray to the Lord that we too may realize the Truth that Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi revels in.

Om Tat Sat !!!

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Upadesa Sara

Sloka 29

Bondage and Liberation

There are some prevalent notions about Liberation – that it can be gained only after death, or that Liberation means going to heaven (the attainment of a subtler field of experience where we get enjoyments that are unavailable in this mortal world). Vedanta asserts that Liberation can be gained in this very body and it is not the gain of heaven.

We generally associate Liberation with happiness and not sorrow. This verse proves beyond doubt that happiness is my very nature and not something to be gained. Also, true or lasting happiness is never gained through objects of this world or the world beyond (heavens). Eternal, infinite Bliss is the nature of the Self and not of objects. The Infinite is naturally ever liberated. How ridiculous is the notion that I shall gain Liberation after death when I am already, by nature, liberated? This confusion is because we have taken our bondages to be real. Vedanta says that it is only ignorance of our ever-liberated nature and the consequent identification with the body that gives rise to the notion of bondage. It is a mere imagination of the mind and not real. Bondage being the effect of ignorance gets destroyed by Knowledge. Liberation can be gained here and now, in this very birth, in this very body! This principle is explained further:

bandha-muktyatitam param sukham,
vindatiha jivastu daivikah.

bandha-muktyatitam – beyond bondage and liberation; param – supreme; sukham – happiness; vindati – gains; iha – here; jiva – individual; astu – indeed (some rare); daivikah – divine;

Here, (in this world) some rare individual with divine qualities gains supreme Happiness which is beyond bondage and Liberation.

The notion of jiva-hood or finitude itself is bondage. Liberation is, therefore, the removal of this ignorance-born notion. The Self is ever liberated. It is beyond the delusory thought of bondage and Liberation. To know this is to attain supreme Happiness. We realize that the Self is eternally gai,ned and bondage that was previously experienced was a mere ‘feeling’ and not real. This ‘feeling’ of bondage and Liberation exists only in the mind and not in the Self. The notion of the ghost on the post causes fear. On knowing the post, we are liberated from the fear of the ghost. The ghost existed merely as a notion in our mind. The post was ever free from the notion of the ghost, the fears of the individual as well as the thoughts of fearlessness that resulted from knowledge of the post.

Man attains supreme happiness on Self-realization. He does not have to wait for death to realize his true nature. He does not have to reach another plane of experience (heaven) as the Self is ever gained. Realization is immediate and can be attained in this very body, at this very moment – here and now.

Not anyone and everyone can gain a particular object or a particular knowledge. Some qualifications are required for any achievement. One who is capable of gaining supreme happiness must have some rare special qualities. Such a divine individual (daivikah jivah) is one who is fully endowed with the four-fold qualifications (sadhana catustaya sampanna). They are:

• Viveka – discrimination between the real and the
• Vairagya – dispassion towards enjoyments – both earthly and
• Sat sampatti – six-fold wealth namely:
  1. Sama – control over the mind.
  2. Dama – control over the senses.
  3. Sraddha – faith in the Guru and the scriptures.
  4. Titiksa – forbearance.
  5. Uparati – withdrawal from extrovertedness.
  6. Samadhana – equanimity and self-absorption.
• Mumuksutvam – an intense desire for

These qualities are gained with effort, grace, or as a meritorious result of innumerable lives. When such a qualified seeker gains the knowledge of the Self from a Guru who is well versed in the scriptures, his ignorance is instantly removed. The seeker thereby frees himself once and for all from the vicious circle of birth and death. The word ‘tu’ shows that such a fortunate individual must be quite unique and rare. He is indeed worshipful because of his divine qualities and unique achievement.

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