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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.
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