let the awareness first of all know its real nature

Sadhu Natananda, an old devotee of Sri Bhagavan and the compiler of Spiritual Instruction, came to Sri Bhagavan for the first time in 1918. With the fervant heart of an earnest sadhak he climbed up the hill to Skandashram and besought thus:

"It is my great desire that I should actually experience your gracious wisdom. Kindly fulfil my desire."

In those days Sri Ramana was not speaking much. Still he spoke kindly as follows:

"Is it the body in front of me which desires to obtain my Grace? Or is it the awareness within it? If it is the awareness, is it not now looking upon itself as the body and making this request? If so, let the awareness first of all know its real nature. It will then automatically know God and my Grace. The truth of this can be realised even now and here."

~ Bhagavan Sri Ramana, A Pictorial Biography, compiled and designed by Joan and Matthew Greenblatt

our refuge

Like a mother who rushes to her hungry baby, picks it up, offers her breast and gives milk, manifest within my heart and end my intense hunger for jnana.

There is no means of getting redeemed other than by having a mind that possesses love for you in such abundance that tears flow like a river.

My Lord! Without making me weary and frustrated with book knowledge, bestow on me the mind of a child that abounds with purity. Make me cling to you in this way.

I am caught in the mouth of the tiger, ego. Apart from you, who took me up as your slave, who else in this world has the responsibility to save me.

On that day when I caught hold of your feet, saying, 'You are my refuge,' you granted me freedom from fear by saying, 'Fear not'.

~ Sadhu Natanananda, Sri Ramana Darsanam

back the way we came

In the hall where Bhagavan used to give darshan there was a chimney. The chimney was closed on all sides with steel mesh, except at the bottom. One day, a beautiful small bird somehow entered it and became trapped inside this chimney. The bird found itself trapped in conditions diametrically opposed to its natural environment: the vast space where it could fly freely. From the moment it entered the chimney, it was frantically struggling to escape, but all its efforts proved futile. Why? Because, forgetting the way it came, it was repeatedly trying to escape through all the closed routes. Sri Bhagavan took this opportunity to reveal a great truth:

This bird has given up the all-pervasive space, its natural place of residence. It has been caught in this limited space, which is opposed to its nature. Not knowing how to escape from this prison, it is agitated and afraid.

Like this bird, jivas have also given up their natural place of residence, the vast space of consciousness. Through the delusion of ignorance they have become trapped in the prison of the body. Without knowing how to escape, they are tormented by various afflictions. The ceaseless efforts of this bird to reach its natural place of residence are unsuccessful because they are directed upwards, the way of bondage, instead of downwards, the way it came.

Similarly, the reason why the jivas' ceaseless efforts to attain freedom are unsuccessful is because they too are directed outwards, the way of bondage, instead of inwards, the way they came.

The natural tendency of the bird to go upwards asserts itself even in its attempt for freedom. Likewise, the natural tendency of jivas to roam outwards asserts itself even in their attempts at liberation. This is the jiva's natural tendency.

If, through true discrimination and awareness, the jiva is made to turn back from outward-directed sight to inward sight, and if it remains fixed there, it is certain that it would attain liberation in an instant.


~ Sadhu Natanananda, Sri Ramana Darsanam

Devoted association with grace is living with the Guru

The mind is always operating through the senses. The vasanas, continually moving towards sense objects, make the mind resemble a lamp flickering in the wind. If it is desireless, the same mind will become motionless, like a lamp in still air. Living with the Guru is the best means for accomplishing this. However, living with the Guru is not, as some people think, the association of one body with another. The Sadguru is God in human form, but if the aspirant regards the Guru as being a form, in the same way that he takes himself to be a body, his own I-am-the-body idea will not cease. So long as this root problem does not cease, the devotee's real nature will not manifest, bondage will not end, and liberation will not be obtained. The aspirant should therefore practice worshipping the Sadguru as the unconditional supreme Brahman. Through this practice he will in due course realise that his real nature is not different from the true nature of the Sadguru. This realisation will remove the I-am-the-body idea and the devotee will attain jivanmukti.

In essence, the aspirant should take consciousness of the Self -- which shines within him just as it shines within the Sadguru -- as his gracious Guru, and abide, through Self-attention, in its presence. This is the true meaning of living with the Guru.

~Sadhu Natanananda, Sri Ramana Darsanam

Who is to correct whom?

Right from the beginning Bhagavan remained without any sense of doership. He never used to prescribe disciplines for anyone. His nature was to instruct by following himself all the disciplines of conduct enjoined upon spiritual aspirants. However, he never permitted excesses by those who relied entirely on him, for he used to correct them in private with kind words. There were some who complained that Bhagavan was not openly censuring the deficiencies in their conduct.

Coming to realise the distress of one such soul, Bhagavan revealed his views on the matter through the following words of grace: 'Who is to correct whom? Is it not the Lord alone who has the authority to correct everyone? All that we can do is correct ourselves. That itself is correcting others.'

~ Sadhu Natanananda, Sri Ramana Darsanam