We are so engrossed in the letters that we forget the paper. The enlightened sees the paper as the substratum whether the letters appear on it or not.

An exponent of the path of Self-enquiry or Atma-vichara , Ramana Maharshi was convinced that a spiritual seeker could attain Self-realisation by constantly reflecting on the question ‘Who am I?’ and tracing the `i-am-the-body’ thought (ego) to its source through deep meditation.

In deep sleep there are no perceptions. Yet, the ego was present because otherwise, there cannot be the memory of having slept. He asked: “Who slept? You did not say in your sleep that you slept; you say it in your wakeful state. So the ego is the same in wakefulness, dream and sleep. Find out the underlying Reality behind these states. There is no you, nor I, nor he; nor present, nor past, nor future. It is beyond time and space, beyond expression.”

The deep sleep state is devoid of body-consciousness but in the waking state the ‘I-am-the-body’ thought is predominant; hence the external world is perceived. Yet the fact remains that there is no change in the one who slept and the one who is now awake. The difference between waking and deep sleep lies in the emergence of body-consciousness and that no change occurs in pure consciousness that abides in eternity. And since the body is experienced in one state (waking) but not in the other (deep sleep), one can say that it arose at some particular moment and that it has both an origin and an end.

The Self, on the other hand, is the Eternal Consciousness which both pre-exists and survives the body. There is the continuity of the Being, the Eternal Self, in all the three states while the body and the worlds that appear in the waking and dream states are ephemeral.

Both the body and body-consciousness emerge and sink simultaneously. While no limitations are experienced in deep sleep, the waking state is the state of bondage characterised by limitations. Despite being devoid of worldly possessions and body, in deep sleep an individual experiences unalloyed happiness. Maharshi says: “See how carefully people prepare their beds to gain that happiness. Soft cushions and pillows are all meant to induce sound sleep, that is to say, to end wakefulness. And yet all these are of no use in the state of deep sleep itself.” Happiness therefore does not depend upon extraneous factors; it is inherent in man.

The thought ‘The body is I’, according to Ramana Maharshi, is the fundamental error. The body does not say ‘I am’; it is the individual who says `i am the body’. Similarly, the world does not proclaim its existence; it is only the individual who says: ‘This is the world’. Since the world is not cognised in deep sleep, continuity of its existence is broken which, in effect, means that it exists only in relation to the perceiver; it has no independent existence.

The Self despite being eternal and omnipresent is not easily realised because of ignorance that falsely identifies Self with body and mind. Eradication of the false sense of ‘I’ (as `I’) through Self-enquiry is the goal of meditation. Then what remains is the pure ‘I’, the Eternal Self.

It also affirms this identity as the real self because the body is the most tangible proof of existence. We can touch, feel and react with this tangible instrument. The ego is addition of many layers of likes, dislikes, preferences and priorities to this mind-body form. The sense of separateness. Of being one of a kind. Of discreteness.

The more we endeavour to attain salvation, the sense of separateness only gets reinforced. All chemicals such as alcohol and drugs induce a state of disconnect. A fleeting disconnect with the surroundings. This disconnect is pleasurable as it blunts the sensibilities and makes the individual immune to any unpleasantness of daily living. But it also fortifies the sense of separateness. This feeling of disconnect and indifference is momentarily blissful. These chemicals are addictive because they give an illusory, fleeting glimpse of ’spiritual’ experience similar to the state of realisation.

The so-called chemical disconnection is ‘exclusive’. In the sense that it refurbishes the sense of separateness but isolates the individual. The state of realisation, however, is inclusive. This inclusive disconnection is an all-pervading sense of oneness, in which any connection is superfluous. Connection or disconnection is relevant only in duality or an illusion of duality. Once this illusion of duality vanishes, what remains is unity. An impersonal awareness.

Realisation shifts the identification of the self from the mind-body form to just plain awareness. Like a drop of the ocean. This drop, when separate from the ocean, will become acutely aware of its independent existence. The drop can see the ocean separately and this separateness gives not only itself, but also the vast ocean a separate identity as well.

When the drop merges in the ocean it does not destroy the physicality of the drop. The drop just merges and loses its separateness. It becomes one with the ocean. Till the point of impact, it still maintains its identity, but at the moment of impact, the drop seemingly disappears. That state of merger can thereafter not be perceived, because perception was of the drop. When the drop ceases to exist, who or what is there to perceive?

The disconnect that occurs by inclusion is everlasting, beyond any time-space considerations. Compassion for all life then becomes the effect rather than any imbibed virtue. The sense of unity is not even an experience because experience implies the existence of an experienced. And we all are conditioned to believe that realisation would mean probably seeing some divine light, or hearing some soulful music or a tremendous state of happiness and so on.

The merger automatically dissolves the ego. It also liberates one from all desires and lust for sensory gratification. The body will eventually live out its destiny, but there would be no sense of doer-ship. There would be just a residual observer who transcends even joy and sorrow. The unqualified awareness celebrates a sense of ‘am-ness’ unadulterated by expectations and longing.

The intangibility and dissolution of one’s identity can scarcely be expressed by any means of communication. The final moment of oneness can be experienced only when all layers of misconception are peeled away and the real self is apperceived not as a separate identity but paradoxically the absence of any.

With the passage of time, when the pain of living has caught up with us and when the spectre of death claims more and more of the people whom we have known, loved and lived with, we begin to hope for a life that promises us an eternity of living. This hope is not the shallow kind but springs from within and is the kind of hope that endures.

Sometimes, we work for small goals, which though they may be good in themselves, do not work for our final good. Hope that endures teaches us to be patient under trials and to work towards reaching our mark in life. Sometimes, the end may not seem at all encouraging. Many we knew appeared unprepared for the end and the flame of hope seemed to have been extinguished in this earthly life.

Does this mean that we cannot hope that they have died and made their peace with God? Far from that, we learn to believe that helped on by prayers and bolstered by the prayers of others, those who were not up to the struggle in life, have at last found their home and peace in God.

True hope does not mean that we leave everything to God. We have to play our part. We learn not to pin our hopes on what can never supply our needs. We steer away from company and people who crush our confidence that could leave us in a limbo of faithlessness.

The Gospels talk about the house that was built on sand and fell down when the rains and storms set in and the house built on rock that survived the winds and the rains. The house built on sand is a symbol of all those who put their faith in the wrong place and in the wrong people. The house built on rock is a symbol of those who have true hope and place their ultimate trust in God rather than in human beings.

We all wear many hats in life. We feel fear, anxiety, resentment, greed, faithlessness and pessimism. Sometimes we feel hope, contentment and love. We can pass down these feelings to others and either perpetuate the influence of the negative in our lives and those of others or pass down feelings of hope, peace and joy and create an environment of trust for others to follow.

Many demands are made on our time and resources. Speed is the prerequisite for many tasks and jobs that we are required to do. We hope for results that are predicated on deadlines. We work like lightening, sometimes at the cost of excellence. We have to learn patience because patience creates results that endure.

We are now more than ever conscious that we live in one world, sharing common goals, hopes and anxieties. With the instant media, we are brought into relationship with each other and there is a bonding of all across continents as people belonging to one human race.

While there is much disappointment, there is also much to be happy about. We reach a stage in our lives when we begin to pin our hopes on God and not on social approval or disapproval. The God of Hope never lets us down. To those who have been His faithful servants, he promises an eternity of hope resting in Him, in whom we move and have our being.

Every sunrise, sunset, the changing of seasons, the tides of the sea and the history of Mother Earth are all lessons in hope. In them we see God’s faithful love for us, His people. Keep on hoping then, through every circumstance, doubt and calamity.

How to free yourself from the grip of storms? This is the only basic problem in this universe. The first thing is to become aware of it and stop regretting it. Like waves come and go, storms in your life too will subside. No one storm can be there for ever. One storm comes and subsides, another comes and subsides and it goes on. As the storm subsides, you experience that inner cool, soft, delicate aspect of yourself. In that space of calm, all the anxiety, fear, feverishness lose their grip on you and you become yourself again. Love dawns.

When you stop resisting the storms of life and start accepting them with open arms, they will subside on their own. That is the purpose of all spiritual practices or sadhana and meditation. When you realise that somebody really cares for you, you feel at rest and all fears and insecurities drop off.

You keep running away from small things – your feelings, sensations, desires ^ and this leads to more feverishness. Realise that like the ocean cannot be there without the waves, storms are inevitable in your life. Every storm touches you somewhere and makes you grow stronger. A storm pulls you out of your likes and dislikes and purifies you. So accept all that comes with both arms open. This is crucifixion. If you say you cannot take them, you are resisting and that leads to more storms in your life.

You are much bigger than all the waves and commotions. They all rise within you and they can in no way destroy you. So, let them be. Even when the storms come, you are still the same ocean, as deep as ever.

This realisation is the culmination of knowledge. When this knowledge dawns, you rise above events; you grow out of them. Everybody in the world goes through crisis, insecurities, confusions. It’s like drowning in the ocean of life. But the person with the life jacket can survive even the worse turmoil. So keep your life jacket of knowledge handy. Being immortal means looking at your infinite nature. That is why the saying, “Die before your death.”

Just observe yourself in a bigger perspective. In the ocean of your life, many waves are rising and dissolving. All the waves that you see are your own forms. It’s like watching wrestling on television and imagining that both wrestlers are you. In life, you act in many forms, sometimes completely opposite. Every name and form that is given in this ocean is part of the consciousness.

Do not be in a hurry to get rid of the storms, be with them. Looking for perfection creates imperfection inside you. If you are peaceful, everything around you becomes peaceful. You are the centre of this universe. Wherever you go, you carry your own mind, and wherever you go, you will create your own storms. It may appear to be calm and quiet for sometime but the storm will surface sooner or later. Unless you realise this, nothing will hold. There is no other permanent solution. Don’t resist the storms, instead see them as an amazing play of your personality.

(Excerpted from a commentary on the Ashtavakra Gita.)

We look at ourselves only in the realm of the mind, or at the level of the body and never look at the deeper layers…. If you don’t look at the deeper layers of yourself, you find yourself empty and shallow and experience a sense of loneliness. When you experience a sense of loneliness, you find that your life is utterly boring.

However, if you are meditative with reference to your self, you will see that your body, mind and intellect are the periphery of your personality. In the deeper layers of yourself, there is the pure Saakshi Chaitanya.

When you understand the deeper layers of yourself, you will become content and blissful. In that state you experience not loneliness, but aloneness. And the moment you start experiencing aloneness you will find that the quality of your life becomes very different. Therefore, with reference to your own self, learn to be more meditative. What does it mean, to be meditative?

If you are not meditative, you will find your life to be in bondage, in shackles; the more you are meditative with reference to your self, the more will be the freedom of your life, the more liberated your life will be. Therefore, being non-meditative to one’s self leads to bandhana or bondage, whereas meditativeness with reference to one’s self leads to a state of nirvana or kaivalya or moksha . Therefore, it is a great responsibility on us, whether we are in grihasthashram or sanyasashram , to learn to be more meditative with reference to our self.

A king was looking for a suitable candidate for the post of prime minister. After several tests, three people were short-listed. The next day was the final test. There was a rumour that the king had a magic lock, created by a clever craftsman, which can be opened only with great skill and knowledge. And whoever unlocked it, would be the prime minister.

Hearing the rumour, two of the selected candidates acquired a lot of books on locks. They spent the whole night going through the mathematical equations relating to locks. The third person was very relaxed. The other two commented to each other that this fellow was a fool. Instead of making the best use of the time he is relaxing! The next morning, all three were taken to the palace. And the rumour turned out to be true. The king said whoever unlocks the lock created by a master craftsman will be prime minister.

These two people felt very happy thinking that it was good that they had referred to many books and then they went and looked at the lock. Once again they returned to the books and started referring to them to find out a solution to the problem, whereas the third person, looking relaxed, went there and looked at the lock and pulled it, and to his surprise, it opened. In fact, it was not locked at all. The other two were still busy referring to the books.

In the meantime, the king announced that the third person had been selected as prime minister. The other two asked him, “You never referred to any book on locks, how did you unlock it?” And the king said, “The very first thing that a prime minister should do is that he should know whether the problem really exists or not, before trying to solve it.”

If you do not know whether the problem exists or not and if you try to solve it, the whole effort becomes futile. Here the problem was that the lock was not fastened. And these two persons assumed it was locked and with that assumption they tried to solve the problem. Therefore, they found that they had wasted their time.

We feel we are in bondage. We have to really start looking within. We’ll find that our fears are imaginary; we imagine that we are bound.

Discourse: Swami Sukhabodhananda

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All the wise men were puzzled by the King’s question. They thought and thought. After a lengthy discussion, an old man suggested something which appealed to all of them. They went to the king and gave him something written on paper, with a condition that the king was not to see it out of curiosity. Only in extreme danger, when the King finds himself alone and there seems to be no way, only then he can see it. The King put the papers under his Diamond ring.

Some time later, the neighbors attacked the Kingdom. King and his army fought bravely but lost the battle. The King had to flee on his horse. The enemies were following him. getting closer and closer. Suddenly the King found himself standing at the end of the road – that road was not going anywhere. Underneath there was a rocky valley thousand feet deep. If he jumped into it, he would be finished…and he could not return because it was a small road…the sound of enemy’s horses was approaching fast. The King became restless. There seemed to be no way.

Then suddenly he saw the Diamond in his ring shining in the sun, and he remembered the message hidden in the ring. He opened the diamond and read the message. The message was – ” THIS TOO SHALL PASS”

The King read it . Again read it. Suddenly something struck him- Yes ! This too will pass. Only a few days ago, I was enjoying my kingdom. I was the mightiest of all the Kings. Yet today, the Kingdom and all his pleasure have gone. I am here trying to escape from enemies.

Like those days of luxuries have gone, this day of danger too will pass. A calm came on his face. He kept standing there. The place where he was standing was full of natural beauty. He had never known that such a beautiful place was also a part of his Kingdom.

The revelation of the message had a great effect on him. He relaxed and forgot about those following him. After a few minutes he realized that the noise of the horses and the enemy coming was receding. They moved into some other part of the mountains and were near him.

The King was very brave. He reorganized his army and fought again. He defeated the enemy and regained his empire. When he returned to his empire after victory, he was received with much fanfare. The whole capital was rejoicing in the victory. Everyone was in festive mood.
Flowers were being showered on King from every house, from every corner. People were dancing and singing. For a moment King said to himself,” I am one of the bravest and greatest King. It is not easy to defeat me. With all the reception and celebration he saw an ego emerging in him.

Suddenly the Diamond of his ring flashed in the sunlight and reminded him of the message. He open it and read it again: “THIS TOO SHALL PASS”.

He became silent. His face went through a total change -from the egoist he moved to a state of utter humbleness. If this too is going to pass, it is not yours. The defeat was not yours, the victory is not yours. You are just a watcher. Everything passes by. We are witnesses of all this. We are the perceivers. Life comes and goes. Happiness comes and goes. Sorrow comes and goes.

Now as you have read this story, just sit silently and evaluate your own life. This too will pass. Think of the moments of joy and victory in your life. Think of the moment of Sorrow and defeat. Are they permanent? They all come and pass away.

Life just passes away. There is nothing permanent in this world. Every thing changes except the law of change. Think over it from your own perspective. You have seen all the changes. You have survived all setbacks, all defeats and all sorrows. All have passed away. The problems in the present, they too will pass away. Because nothing remains forever. Joy and sorrow are the two faces of the same coin. They both will pass away.

You are just a witness of change. Experience it, understand it, and enjoy the present moment -
this too shall pass!

He raised a glass of water and asked the audience, “How heavy do you think this glass of water is?” The students’ answers ranged from 20g to 500gm.

It does not matter on the absolute weight. It depends on how long you hold it. If I hold it for a minute, it is OK. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance.

It is the exact same weight, but the longer I hold it, the heavier it becomes. If we carry our burdens all the time, sooner or later, we will not be able to carry on, the burden becoming increasingly heavier.

What you have to do is to put the glass down, rest for a while before holding it up again. We have to put down the burden periodically, so that we can be refreshed and are ! able
to carry on.

So before you return home from work tonight, put the burden of work down. Don’t carry it
back home. You can pick it up tomorrow. Whatever burdens you are having now on your shoulders, let it down for a moment if you can. Pick it up again later when you have rested.

Rest and relax. Life is short, enjoy it!! Cheers!

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

Copyright © 2009 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard.

Provided by TipsForSuccess.org as a public service to introduce the technology of L. Ron Hubbard to you.

Copyright © 2009 TipsForSuccess.org. All rights reserved. Grateful acknowledgment is made to L. Ron Hubbard Library for permission to reproduce selections from the copyrighted works of L. Ron Hubbard.