Category Archives: Ramesam

Ramesam’s Blogs

Reality, appearance, and mind

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Quote:

“Sage Vasishta:  Please listen to me carefully as I shall now teach you the most supreme of all topics — ways to calm down the mind. Just like pillars bear the weight of a building, raajasic and taamasic people carry on their shoulders the unlimited illusion of a world. But saatvic natured persons like you can leave this burden as easily as a snake sheds its skin. The only way to do it is through an understanding of the essence of Truth (tatva vichaaraNa).

Whatever is not existent at the beginning and also at the end, but appears only in-between cannot be Real. Whatever stays permanently at all times (past, present and future) only can be True. How does a thing that has no existence at the beginning and at the end appear to be born and to exist in-between? The fact of the matter is neither anything is born nor anything has grown. All of this is entirely a play of the mind!

जायते मन एवेह मन एव विवर्धते ।

सम्यग्दर्शन दृष्ट्या तु मन एवहि मुच्यते ॥  — shloka 11, sarga 5

What is born here is mind, what develops is also mind. If you consider properly, what is liberated also is mind.”

Extracted from p:7 of the book:  Yogavaasishta Part IV: The Calm Down by K.V. Krishna Murthy, (English rendering by Dr. Vemuri Ramesam), Avadhoota Datta Peetham, Mysore 570025, India, 2008, pp: 194.

GK: III-40 and Some (Mis)Conceptions

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During the mid-part of the last century when we were in our adolescence, the most common ambition of an average educated Indian was to go abroad. So we used to have a fancy to learn some foreign language. I tried Chinese but could go hardly beyond two pages of a book I bought from the Higginbotham’s.  Deutche (German) was the next attraction because that was still the Lingua franca for Science in those days. I forgot all of what I learnt but one thing that stuck to me was a charming quote which expresses the German spirit of approach in developing their expertise. It goes something like this:

“Es gibt nichts Praktischeres als eine gute Theorie.“

(My thanks to Sitara who was kind to correct my initial wrong wording and also for letting me know that it was Immanuel Kant who said it).

The quote means that “there is nothing more practical than a good theory.”

IMHO, the statement is a delight to every theoretician and undoubtedly very dear to all those oriented to jnAna mArga (Self-inquiry). Continue reading →

Appearance and Reality – As Properties

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“In order to understand a new material, one has to understand its Intrinsic properties as well as its Assumed (Transient) properties.  The intrinsic properties of Brahman are Sat (Reality), Chit (Consciousness) and Ananda (Bliss).  His transient or assumed qualities are Creation, Sustenance and Dissolution.  One should know both these qualities of Brahman in order to understand him.  It is very difficult to directly comprehend or talk about the intrinsic qualities of Brahman.  That’s why, at many places, the Vedas firstly talk about the assumed, temporary or transient qualities of the Brahman and then explain Brahman in terms of his natural intrinsic qualities.

The following quote from Taittiriyopanishad is very pertinent in this context among all the statements in the Vedas about the transient qualities of Brahman:

यतोवा इमानि भूतानि जायन्ते
येन जातानि जीवन्ति
यत्प्रय्त्यभिसंविशन्ति ||    —   III-1-i,  taittirIya upanishad

It means: “Brahman is that from which all the five major elements like the sky are born, by which all that were born are sustained and into which all those sustained finally enter and unify with it.”

The properties of creation, sustenance and dissolution do not always adhere to the Brahman. Therefore, they are to be called as temporarily assumed characteristics.  Both Vasishta and Valmiki Maharishis prepared the scope of their teachings in YogavAsiShTha keeping this fact in mind. ”  — From: p: 1-2, Yogavaasishta, Part III – Sustenance, K. V. Krishna Murthy, (English translation Dr. Vemuri Ramesam), Avadhoota Datta Peetham, Mysore, India, 2006.

The transient qualities are the Appearance.

The intrinsic qualities are the Reality.

Spontaneous thoughts

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You may recall my earlier Post on “Two Genres of Thought” in Dec 2013.

A just published research study says:

Spontaneous thoughts, intuitions, dreams and quick impressions — we all have these seemingly random thoughts popping into our minds on a daily basis. The question is what do we make of these unplanned, spur-of-the-moment thoughts? Do we view them as coincidental wanderings of a restless mind, or as revealing meaningful insight into ourselves?

A research team from Carnegie Mellon University and Harvard Business School set out to determine how people perceive their own spontaneous thoughts and if those thoughts or intuitions have any influence over judgment. Published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, their research found that spontaneous thoughts are perceived to provide potent self-insight and can influence judgment and decisions more than similar, more deliberate kinds of thinking — even on important topics such as commitment to current romantic partners.

The (perceived) meaning of spontaneous thoughts.
Morewedge, Carey K.; Giblin, Colleen E.; Norton, Michael I.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, May 12 , 2014,

akhaNDAkAra vRRitti – Some Questions

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I have a few questions on the concept and origin of the term akhaNDAkAra vRRitti. Will be grateful for any contribution and thoughts on my dobuts.

1.  Does the term “akhaNDAkAra vRRitti” appear in any major upanishads or Bhagavad-Gita? If so, where (citation)?

2.  Where and by whom was the term “akhaNDAkAra vRRitti” introduced for the first time in Advaita?

3.  Is the concept “akhaNDAkAra vRRitti” an attempt to extend the process of ‘Object cognition’ by the mind as explained in Vedanta Paribhasha to the stage of Self-realization?

4.  Does it occur prior to (and hence causal to) Self-realization or is the term “akhaNDAkAra vRRitti” a post hoc  explanation of  a presumed process that might have occurred in the mind on Self-realization?

5.  Does the term have a practical utility for a seeker as a sAdhana tool? If so how?

Thanks and regards,

Attention – ad tendere

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The word “Attention” is derived from two Latin words, ad tendere, meaning “to stretch towards.”

Rupert Spira explains very clearly how attention turning towards itself is the ending of the mind.

1.  Attention Falling Back to its Source (From Rupert at Parmoor in Dec 2013) – 8:35 min:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJzIz31rt4I

2.  Attention and Awareness (From Rupert at Santa Sabina in Oct 2013) – 8:38 min:  http://non-duality.rupertspira.com/watch/attention-and-awareness

3.  The Sinking of Attention into Itself (From Rupert at Santa Sabina in Feb 2014) – 13:07 min:  http://non-duality.rupertspira.com/watch/the-sinking-of-attention-into-itself

4.  Attention is Awareness Plus an Object (From Rupert at Mercy Center, CA in Apr 2013) – 14:53 min:  http://non-duality.rupertspira.com/watch/attention-is-awareness-plus-an-object

The message in these Videos is beautifully crystal clear and truly meditational, I submit.

Attention and Inattention

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1.   “At any given time, a massive flow of sensory stimulation reaches our senses, but our conscious mind seems to gain access to only a very small amount of it.  … …… Conscious access is, at once, extraordinarily open and inordinately selective. Its potential repertoire is vast. At any given moment, with a switch of my attention, I can become conscious of a color, a scent, a sound, a lost memory, a feeling, a strategy, an error – or even the multiple meanings of the word consciousness.” — p: 20.

2.   “Out of countless potential thoughts, what reaches our conscious mind is la crème de la crème, the outcome of the very complex sieve that we call attention. — p:21.

3.    “[I]nattention can make virtually any object vanish from our consciousness. As such, it provides an essential tool for contrasting conscious and unconscious perception.” — p: 37

From: Consciousness and the Brain – Deciphering How the Brain Codes Our Thoughts by Stanislas Dehaene, Viking, 2014, pp: 333 ISBN 978-0-670-02543-5

You may watch this 1:54 min YouTube video (thanks to the London Transport Dept.) to know how attentive you are: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubNF9QNEQLA

adhikArah – fitness

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Verses 795 – 818, Chapter 39,  in sarva vedAnta siddhAnta sAra sangrahah (The Essence of Entire Vedanta Theory in Brief) of Shankaracharya deal with adhikArah of the spiritual aspirant.  Though the word “adhikArah”  has several meanings like authority, right, privilege, position, prerogative &c &c, it is taken in this context to denote fitness or eligibility of the seeker. IMHO, “acuity” of the intellect is more important. Selected verses quoted here:

अध्यारोपापवादक्रममनुसरता देशिकेनात्र वेत्रा वाक्यार्धे बोध्यमाने सति सपदि सतः  शुद्धबुद्धेरमुष्य ।

नित्यानन्दाद्वितीयं निरुपममलं यत्परं तत्वमेकम् तद् ब्रह्मैवाहमस्मीत्युदयति  परमाखण्डताकारवृत्तिः ॥   — 797

(Meaning:  No sooner the meaning of the mahAvAkya (‘That thou art’) is made known to the aspirant by the teacher, who follows the method of superimposition and of negation, than there arises in the man of pure intellect that supreme mental modification which  knows no change, and he realizes: “I am that Brahman who is of the nature of eternal Happiness, Non-dual, incomprehensible, untainted, the One Supreme Reality.”)
अखण्डाकारवृत्तिः सा चिदाभाससमन्विता ।
आत्माभिन्नं परं ब्रह्म विषयीकृत्य केवलम् ॥                   —  798
(Meaning:  The  indivisible pure Consciousness makes Itself manifest in all that It reflects upon. It permeates everything. Because brahman is not other than Atman, it follows that it is only by means of brahman that the veil of avidya is lifted.)
श्रुत्योदितस्ततो ब्रह्म ज्ञेयं बुद्धयैव सूक्ष्मया ।
प्रज्ञामान्द्यं भवेद्येषां तेषां  न श्रुतिमात्रत: ॥                  —  808
(Meaning: brahman should, therefore, be known by the acute intellect. But those persons, whose understanding is limited, cannot directly attain that mental attitude merely by listening to what the shruti says. Such persons should recollect in mind what the shruti says and meditate upon it.)
स्यादखण्डाकारवृत्तिर्विना तु मननादिना
श्रवणान्मननाद्ध्यानातात्पर्येण निरन्तरम् ॥                      — 809
(Meaning: It is only by constantly listening to and reflecting on as well as by meditating upon what the shruti says, that the intellect becomes endowed with the power of ascertaining that which is subtle. It is only then that the Reality is known.)
बुद्धे: सूक्ष्मत्वमायाति ततो वस्तूपलभ्यते ।
मन्दप्रज्ञावतां तस्मात्करणीयं पुनः पुनः ॥                         — 810

(Meaning: That supreme reality is attained only by means of the sharp intellect. Those who are lacking in intellectual sharpness should therefore repeatedly do (hear and meditate over what the shruti says in order to attain the True Knowledge.))

adhikAritva – Graduate Quals !?

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Whenever I hear of ‘adhkAritva’, I am reminded of the ‘Graduate Quals’ or Prelims in the North American Universities.

Every aspiring candidate for Grad studies  has to cross these  nightmarish (for some) mandatory ‘hurdles on the course’ in order to “to continue studies at a higher level, and/or allow the student to comprehend his/her studies and see how prepared they are for the looming” super-knowledge he/she will earn.

In India, I understand, that such Prelims are introduced for admission of even Nursery class students by some elite schools to filter the mad rush of applications from the parents seeking the entry of their wards into the portals of those exclusive repositories of wisdom.

Perhaps there is a reason for all such uncanny devices of regulation and control where an ‘organized educational program’ requiring an approved Governmental Accreditation is involved

But for imparting the simple teaching that, at its core, says you are already that ‘nitya suddha buddha mukta‘ which you seek to know, do we have to have these mandatory regulations?

In fact it is said in spiritual matters that there is no teaching unless a question is asked. And it is equally true that there cannot be a fixed  teaching cast in a rigid framework of curriculum because the teaching has to be molded as a melodious tune in a waltz-like dance with the spiritual aspirant’s questions. There cannot be ‘institutionalization.’

After all, it is not about running the ‘business’ of “teaching shops” with product guarantees in a market environment. The spiritual Seekers these days come with a maturity of brain and having had varied experience in the phenomenal world. They come (mostly) with open minds to ‘question’ and are courageous to be irreverent (not impertinent).  These are not like the students in the good old ancient days when a ‘brahmachari’ is sent away to the ‘Gurukula’ at the tender age of 7-10 when even the brain cells of the kid have not yet matured, basic knowledge skills and analytical acumen are not yet learnt and the lad had to be educated even in the three R’s. Enormous times are spent in preparing their wavering child-minds to develop focus and attention, deductive and inductive logic, discrimination and discretion etc. Do we need to repeat all that on a 30 or 40 or 50 or whatever age person?

All that the advaita teaching talks  about is deconstructing the belief structures of the seeker. If the belief is in ego, egolessness is the teaching. If the belief is a hidden feeling in the nooks and corners of the body or mind, the teaching has to shine light to illuminate those hidden quarters.

On another note, it has to be said that the programs for ‘training trainers’ have perhaps a greater need for implementing stricter eligibility criteria.  The reasons are obvious. The prospective teachers have a responsibility not to mislead the eager seeker, should be able to maintain the pristine purity and integrity of the essence of the message and so on.

So steps to regulate them will hopefully help in curbing the mushrooming growth of the ‘industry’ of spiritual teaching being run on MNC marketing models, self-perpetuating their own authority and ‘brand development’ through their “Quals.”

The Self and self control

Quote

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The Supreme Self of one who has control over the aggregate of his body and organs, and who is tranquil, becomes manifest. [He should be equipoised] in the midst of  cold and heat, happiness and sorrow, as also honor and dishonor.

— Bhagavad-Gita, Ch VI, sloka 7

http://ebookbrowsee.net/srimad-bhagavad-gita-shankara-bhashya-english-pdf-d356705117