Above Photo of Dr Raju was taken At the entrance of JK center
The mind cannot do Self-inquiry, because whatsoever the mind can do will strengthen the mind. Any doing on the part of the mind makes the mind more strong. So Self-inquiry by the mind is impossible.
Mind doing something means mind continuing itself -- so that is not in the nature of things. But Self-inquiry happens through watching the mind, not by doing anything.
The watcher is separate from the mind, it is deeper than the mind, higher than the mind. The watcher is always hidden behind the mind. A thought passes, a feeling arises -- who is watching this thought? Not the mind itself -- because mind is nothing but the process of thought and feeling. The mind is just the traffic of thinking. Who is watching it? When you say, "Fear has arisen in me," who are 'you'? In whom has the thought of fear arisen? Who is the container? The thought of fear is the content -- who is the container?
Consciousness is like empty paper. Mind is like written, printed paper.
Whatsoever exists as an object inside you, whatsoever you can see and observe, is the mind. The perceiver is not the mind, the observed is the mind.
So if you can go on simply observing,watching,witnessing without condemning, without in any way creating a conflict with the mind, without indulging it, without following it, without going against it, if you can simply be there indifferent to it, in that indifference Self-inquiry happens. when the watcher arises, the witness is there, mind simply disappears.
Mind exists with your cooperation OR your conflict. Both are ways of cooperating -- conflict too! When you fight with the mind, you are giving energy to it. In your really fight you have accepted the mind, in your very fighting you have accepted the power of the mind over your being. So whether you cooperate or you conflict, in both the cases the mind becomes stronger and stronger.
Just watch. Just be a witness. And, by and by, you will see gaps arising. A thought passes, and another thought does not come immediately -- there is an interval. In that interval is peace. In that interval is love. In that interval is all that you have always been seeking -- and finding never. In that gap, you are no more an ego. In that gap you are not defined, confined, imprisoned. In that gap you are vast, immense, huge! In that gap you are one with existence -- the barrier exists not. Your boundaries are no more there. You melt into existence and the existence melts in you. You start overlapping.
If you go on watching and you don't get attached to these gaps either... because that is natural now, to get attached to these gaps. If you start hankering for these gaps... because they are tremendously beautiful, they are immensely blissful. It is natural to get attached to them, and desire arises to have more and more of these gaps -- then you will miss, that your watcher has disappeared. Then those gaps will again disappear, and again the traffic of the mind will be there.
So the first thing is to become an indifferent watcher. And the second thing is to remember that when beautiful gaps arise, don't get attached to them, don't start asking for them, don't start waiting that they should happen more often. If you can remember these two things -- when beautiful gaps come, watch them too, and keep your indifference alive -- then one day the traffic simply disappears with the road, they both disappear. And there is tremendous emptiness.
That's what Buddha calls 'Nirvana' -- the mind has ceased. This is what I call suicide -- but mind has not committed it. Mind cannot do it. You can help it to happen. You can hinder it, you can help it to happen -- it depends on you, not on your mind. All that mind can do will always strengthen the mind.
So Self-inquiry is not really mind-effort. Real meditation is not effort at all. Real Self-inquiry(Nija Vicharana) is just allowing the mind to have its own way, and not interfering in any way whatsoever -- just remaining watchful, witnessing. It silences, by and by, it becomes still. One day it is gone. You are left alone.
That aloneness is what your reality is. And reality is beginningless and endless. The mind has a beginning and an end, hence the mind and reality cannot meet. The mind cannot comprehend the eternal.
Reality is simply the loss of ego. Destroy the ego by seeking its identity. Because the ego is no entity it will automatically vanish and reality will shine forth by itself.
And in that aloneness nothing is excluded, remember it. In that aloneness everything is included -- that aloneness is God. That purity, that innocence, uncorrupted by any thought, is what Self is.
About the Author
Sri Suryanarayana Raju is interested in Self-Enquiry in the light of Sri Ramana Maharshi,Osho,JK.He wrote two books on "Self-Enquiry" and "Commented on Upadesa Saram and Akshara Mana Malai". available for download at http://www.esnips.com/ web/ramana-maharshi
http://www.facebook.com/Arunachalasiva
Source: http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=413991431864
Prasanth Jalasutram Note: Sri Sundara Chaitanya Swami says Mano Nasam means only destruction of ignorance in the mind but not destruction of mind.
Sri Tyagaraja swami says in one of his songs,
kalpana lenni kalavaadee maa raamudu
sankalpam leni vaade maa raamudu.
Which means So there is nothing wrong in having thoughts but it is important not to have sankalpas.
If we want to know nature of pot there is no need to break the pot.
Sri Sundara Chaitanya Swami says there is no need to stop waves to understand about ocean.
Waves are not independent of ocean but are only part of ocean.
As there is no need to stop the waves similarly there is no need to kill the mind to know our nature i.e sat-chit-ananda.
Problem is though we are satyam(truth) i.e ocean in the above example we think we are mithya(waves) and start thinking of all the problems of waves as we compare ourselves with waves and then we start trying to solve our problems related to waves.
Here waves relate to mind and our nature is ocean on which everything(mind,indriyas..) is dependent.
If really problems solve by killing our mind then it can be solved by taking some injection like anaesthesia. :-)
So solution is to know that we are not the mind and it is mithya i.e dependent on our real nature i.e sat-chit-ananda.
Dr Raju Garu wants to add few more points
Manonasa according to Adi Sankara in Viveka Chudamani is destruction of sankapa(volition) and vikalpa(doubt) trait of the mind.Even after manonasa all physiological functions of the mind are done as usual.Impersonal thinking(not having any preference)is not pathological(diseased).
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