One warm afternoon in 1996 I took a short nap. I awoke within it to find myself standing in the presence of a huge sun or sphere of light, quickly understanding that this sun was pure conscious awareness. Although its surface was only swirling light and did not have a face, it seemed as if it was smiling at me and had nothing but love for me. I felt its thoughts as one with my own and felt it peering deeply into my own awareness, knowing everything about me all at once. Standing in its presence I was overcome by a deep sense of awe and at the same time I was surprised to find myself so fully conscious in this empty, but light-filled void. There was nothing in existence for me but myself and this bright bluish-white sun smiling its awareness at me. It was unlike any place on earth, and yet as real as waking reality. In fact, it was more real; I was super-conscious. Suddenly I came to a profound awareness that this sun was God! I was so overwhelmed and surprised that God was real that I mentally gasped and then yelled out, "You're Real!" I had always had a deep mistrust of religion. Years before this experience, I had decided for many seemingly valid reasons that religion and God were only a product of the human mind, yet there I was standing in the presence of what I knew without a doubt was God. What I had previously thought to be the truth about the universe was shattered and I stood there stunned, having had my world turned around so quickly. I was happy because I had always hoped that God was real and that there was a future beyond the physical. As I stood in its presence, I perceived myself to be nothing but pure awareness and without a body. This sun of awareness fully merged with me, seeing everything inside of me. It saw everything I had ever done (and failed to do) both good and bad, and yet I did not sense or feel this Being was judging me or my past. There was no serial or motion-picture-like review of my life, just a sudden and full knowing about all things I have ever done, thought and experienced. Because this sun of awareness/God was peering so fully and deeply into me, I felt totally naked, more naked than if I were standing without clothes in front of a million people. This Being seemed to be the consciousness of everyone I had ever known plus that of millions of others. It seemed to be everyone, but incredible as it might seem, most of all it seemed to be me. Even though I had no awareness of having a boy, this feeling of nakedness was more than I could stand. Before I had time to think about what I was doing, I began moving away from this Being as fast as I could. It wasn t that I was afraid, nor that I wanted to get away from this wonderful sun of light, it was more like an automatic response to feeling more naked than I thought naked could be. As I was traveling away from this Being I found myself bursting through some kind of barrier into a blackness that was filled with wonderful stars; space. As I continued moving forward at a tremendous speed through the star fields, I soon found myself slowing down as if I was up against another barrier or membrane. It seemed to stretch slightly and then I burst through it into another blackness of star-filled space. I continued to speed away faster and faster, but regardless of how much physical distance I traveled, I was never any farther away from the sun of awareness at all. I quickly traveled through several star-filled spaces, at least six of them beyond the great sphere of light, each separated from one another by barriers that I was easily penetrating. As I passed through each layer, my speed increased each time, but its consciousness was still with me. It was still deeply within my own consciousness. All of a sudden, I fell through the top of my bedroom ceiling, hit my body with a jolt and immediately woke up. The jolt was so strong that my bed physically bounced as my body jerked awake in response to the sudden stop. I opened my eyes and immediately spoke in a low and powerful voice, "I am that great I am." I said this almost involuntarily; the words spilled out of my mouth without even thinking about what or why I was saying it. I also knew what this meant: that I was the very consciousness that I was trying to get away from! As much as I tried to get away from that Sun of Awareness, I could never get one fraction of an inch farther away from it, no matter how far or fast I traveled. Even after waking up, it was still with me. To this day, I still feel and know its presence. I believe that this Sun/Intelligence/God wasn't a single Being, but is the center of all beings, that it is me, you and perhaps all conscious beings. From this experience I think that somewhere at the center of each of us is a spark of this same light, and without it we would not have consciousness, and perhaps without us it would not exist either. As I was flying away from this being, I had the impression that I was traveling through several layers within a sphere, but I was bursting through layers like the layers of an onion but between each layer was star-filled space. I can't really tell you if I was traveling from the inside out, or the outside in, but as I traveled through them I had an impression that the farther I got from the sphere of light, the smaller I got and the more divided I became. As I was returning I felt like I was not only traveling through spheres within spheres, but also as if I were traveling from the top of a pyramid down, the peak an all seeing eye of omni-present consciousness, the blocks below all of the individuals which make the whole. While trying to move away I could both see and feel myself splitting into more and more diverse copies of myself, each branching off into many other branches of selves which also split into their own branches, dividing and dividing into ever larger numbers. Because of this experience, I came to see everyone around me as myself. At the same time, I also see this as equally true from everyone else's perspective, that I am them too. They too can look around and only see other parts of themselves, other selves experiencing life from another point of view, separated by their physical bodies and world, by their individual minds and wills, but in reality they are one at their core. These feelings and thoughts were so strong within me that I had trouble referring to other people at work as anything other than "I". I had a tendency to think about others as just another part of myself. Just as I think about my hands as being a part of me, I would sometimes refer to others as "I" instead of the name of the person. For example, instead of saying, "He had finished working on that project" it came out as "I had finished working on that project." I had to re-learn how to refer to others as separate from myself. After four years, I still think of others as myself, but now I can stop from verbalizing it. If I had the chance to do it over again and stand in the presence of this sun-intelligence-God, I wouldn't run away from it no matter how startling it is to be seen to such depth. I now hope that I would stand in its presence no matter how naked I felt. I don't believe that my motive for running was because I couldn't stand to face the light, or that I felt like a bad person, but because I was so unaccustomed to being seen so fully, so suddenly, so clearly and to such depth. Unfortunately my flight away from it took place before I could think of what I was doing and why. The words I spoke after the experience, "I am that great I am" meant that, although I am individual here, I am also a part of every other consciousness at the great central point of consciousness; God. I am now secure in the knowledge that this presence of consciousness has always been with me, and that I have never been alone and never will be alone. I now know that this presence is closer to me than anything else in the universe. I had been so accustomed to it that I didn t know it was there, much like becoming used to a smell in a room, once you are there with it long enough, it begins to fade into the background. Like silence, it is always there, maybe in the background, behind and between the sounds, but always there. Like a quiet pure awareness, completely silent but ever present. To find it within listen to the silence and then try to find what is behind it, it's there as strong as your own silent awareness forever smiling at you. When this happened I had been affected by severe sleep apnea where I could just stop breathing for minutes, as reported to me by my wife who kept waking me so I would breath again. Due to this, is possible I stopped breathing for some period of time, but since I was sleeping, I have no way to know whether this happened that day as I was alone in bed when this happened. I work as a RF engineer in satellite telecommunications, from RF theory, I see the selves we are as individuals as the modulation riding upon a pure carrier wave, in this experience, that carrier wave can be thought of as the ever present consciousness we are all a part of, call it God, the life carrier for all beings or what have you, that is what I think we all really are, it is silent and unmodulated, we are the carrier modulators which have come into being as a myriad of individuals riding upon it. In essence, that is our true self under it all as the silent watcher.
Great recounting of a great and amazing experience; a "full-blown, tactile, indelible "l am that great l am" experience. Thank you so much for sharing.
🙏🏼thank u❤When I read Bhagavans words I feel a lot of bliss consciousness, and know who I am ….the deep abiding presence of silence inside. There is not a Continuous feeling of bliss as the world pulls me out too sometimes, but I know/Remember who I am most of the time😊🙏🏼
Wonderful to see you. It must have been in 1998 or 1999 during my visit in ramanashram I was standing near to you while we all got the possibility to see and hear the last living desiple of beloved ramana maharshi…..he opened the door to his garden only once a year!i never forget what i have gotten this morning! Sorry my English. So Long ago I am still on the way. But it is more freedom and quietness there….may you be blessed Maria Luise
David, many years ago (I think we are the same age), I studied many books, from Plato to Gurdjeff, from the Bhagavad Gita to krishnamurti and followed many exercises and lessons. Two books have made a special impression on me: the Asthavakra Samhita and the book you wrote. It has helped me to let go of all learning systems, all dogma'. My mind is still strong and clear, my feelings calm and I realize that I am not all that. Silence remains an important exercise, I find that in small things like walking. I am going to read Ramana's Upadesa Saram again, especially the last 15 verses.
@@hansgouda8593 Im glad you find your way. Im currently embarking my path and already went through all the teachers you mentioned. For some reason, Ramanas teaching hits on another level. Gonna trust him
@@nicolasaybar5318 And I still remember some words of my "first teacher" (Socrates): I don't know. I really don't know, that's why I prefer the silence or as Krishnamurti put it with 'choiceless awareness. Ramana is a great example in this.
I actually had this discussion with David Godman on a forum about 15 years ago. Ramana Maharshi had an experience of "cutting the knot" as "eternal liberation" after his heart stopped for 15 minutes - after nine years of nonstop meditation. After that "cutting of the knot" then he was able to be both in the world and not in the world since every thought he had then emptied his spiritual ego back to the formless awareness or "ether" that powered his spirit. This is equivalent to going beyond the right side vagus nerve to the right side of the heart that Ramana Maharshi had identified as the "secret pinhole" to the formless awareness. thanks.
@@earther-v2wBliss monkeys want to get high and hop from one blissful experience to the next until they are burned out. Truth seekers accept where they are and go within, deep within to find the Truth of their existence.
Thank you David for taking the time in echoing your thoughts alongside responding to the wonderful questions from several devotees of Sri.Ramana Maharshi.
Do we need the physical presence of the guru? 15:36 the Self is in the heart center of all 17:59 always available to you 18:40 turn your attention within, there you find the true guru
No, we do not need the physical presence of the guru, If that were the case, then no one would ever rise in spiritual vision and would be just as blurred as was many years ago. You do not need a guru to spark the light of the searching, that occurs without thought, without trying. A guru can help kindle the flame however, but in the end only you can blow the kindling into a raging fire. Time and space is of the material world and so the physical proximity of a guru is not important, but the spiritual proximity....
@@afriend621 Having a human guru is definitely a huge blessing, no doubt! What do you mean by 'illumination' exactly? Self-realization? Could I ask who your guru is?
Ramana Maharshi. This Saint transcends "physical" and "spiritual". Make a sincere prayer from the depths of your Being when you are ready. You will know what illumination is when it comes. Have no doubt.
David, you and Ramana just took away all my bleeding heart guilt about not doing more to help people. There’s such a difference between feeling like one should save the world versus offering assistance to someone in front of you without any expectations that they will be happier.
Hello, Kiwi: Thank you for the loving energy that come out of your words. I, took a break from "charity" after asking myself: Are you gaining value from helping others? Do you feel a stronger sense of self by offering help? Do you place sense of self-value on what you can do or have done or did for others?. Then after that, I learn that the greatest gift to the world is when one is no longer bound to this world. as David quoted in one video, we can build dream house, dream food, dream car, dream war to take care of dream problems, dream conflict for dream characters or we can turn within and hold that space as the inner guru and make changes within which in turn changes the without. Please step back and see "bleeding heart guilt", who is the one that feels? To whom these feelings occur? The "I' that tells us how we feel is the false sense of I that is to be looked at as Who Am I self enquiry practice and not what we are aware of.
Thank you David there is many you tube videos about Bhagavan Ramana but I always come back to your beautiful "Talks on Ramana Maharishi". It inspired me to find Ramana`s most important books and read them daily as my sadhana. Thank you again.
David this question and answer session is a boon for all devotees .I wish i would have met you 40 years before.Next time i come to Tiru i would be happy to meet you.I am a friend of the 2 Swami Ramananandas.The first being Sri Punjaji's Swami Ramanananda and the second being the recently passed away Sw.Ramanananda of Varuna Linga. Arunachalam!
I experienced a state of oneness whereby everything I looked at was me, after perhaps 10 minutes and walking about my home in amazement, I stopped and was just looking, the knowing came to me “I am all there is”. I never considered that experience after that, until several years after I experienced nirvikalpa at age 49. The weird thing, up until nirvikalpa I was always very peaceful in every situation, traffic, people actually crashing into me, I would say don’t worry. At work in emergency environments. I did martial arts for about 20 years but had no interest in getting the belts. No matter what I did I would do it to a very high level, my martial arts instructor asked me to prepare for the Olympics, I didn’t bother. In my work also very high performing but I would never compete. When I would go for interviews for jobs, if they ask, so what do you want, my answer would naturally be , to be able to help. After the nirvikalpa all of that peace stopped, I became very agitated about being recognised for the work I was doing, I came close to joining martial arts clubs in order to get my belts, I was doing courses all of the time to get more certificates . My ego went berserk, it was as if it had been quiet 40 years and had just been woken up and realised it had lots of catching up to do…. It was so bizarre. I should add, I had no knowledge of any of these states, meditation, spirituality etc, I came from average Australian atheist family, but I did have a sense of something bigger, I guess I was a slow learner.
The first question. I Asked my master was about this or pradabla karma his response was Richard to the sage none of this matters...and there was immediate peace...thank you...
Hello, Mr. Godman. Just hearing this now. I am excited to hear about your forthcoming work on Maurice Frydman, who has fascinated me for years. I tried myself to research him, and found many references to him in Gandhi's volumes, but this is long ago. I recently heard on a TH-cam video that Nisargadatta had once been asked who, if anyone, had gotten his teaching in full, and his answer was Maurice. I believe it was Maurice who had asked that. I have great respect for this Pole who learned Marati and who gave us the I Am That, which brought so many to the teachings. I feel he is not given his due in documentaries about Nisargadatta and hope to learn much from your research. Blessings and thanks for your astute keeping of the light in this regard and for Ramana of course.
Because everything is consciousness, the body is also a thought, as is the entire world. It's essentially the same as the thoughts that we have in the so called mind. My understanding is that when Sri Ramana said we have the freedom to choose whether to identify or not to identify as the doer of the body, he is also referring to the identification as teh the thinker of thoughts as well.
Great talk David. The first question which asks are our thoughts predetermined is in a way asking if there is free will?. One disciple of Sri Ramakrishna paramhansa who had read western literature put this question before Ramakrishna paramhansa. Does free will exist in man?. To which the answer was "Did you read this concept in a western literature?. There is only freedom". Swami vivekananda puts it even more clearly "As long as the Jiva is trapped within time, space and causation, there really is no freedom but only an illusion of freedom exists".
Swami Vivekananda, song of the sannyasin Who sows must reap,” they say, “and cause must bring The sure effect; good, good; bad, bad; and none Escape the law. But whoso wears a form Must wear the chain.” Too true; but far beyond Both name and form is Atman, ever free. Know thou art That, Sannyasin bold! Say- “Om Tat Sat, Om! ”
That's an amazing kind of "re enectment" David is giving here, I knew years ago that his work was important, no doubt Baghavan is talking through his words now. Thank you "both" of YOU
Yes Papaji’s Sufi Moses story is based on numerous Chassidic tales where the righteous let people know that what was decreed had been changed by either a righteous persons blessing or a truly righteous act or change of lifestyle...
-sufi in the original phrase was is an Islamic or muslim saint or sage .And so this means all the Abrahamic religions: Judaism Christianity and Islam have the prophet Moses in their religious books-
@@beejumittahb8527 yes but the main thing isn’t what we have in our books but what is in our hearts …Those books have caused good and evil mixed together with people on the outside acting properly or some killing each-other in the name of what is written in their book or interpretation…What we need is to go beyond the book and thought and the saint can help us do that yet we must make it on our own effort …
Thank you to David Godman. A question and answer such is this is incredibly valuable for the whole of humanity because your answers bring together the fruits of a lifetime devoted to seeking out and disseminating the wisdom of Bhagavan and of those in his lineage.
Dear David, Thank you for your exceptional service. Listening to you is always a pleasure. I loved the way Bhagwan explained the difference between Nirvikalpa Samadhi and Sahaja, and the comment about the leaving one's worldly duty to solely pursue spiritual practices. Namaste. Krish Shetty
Thank you, David, for sharing the Sufi story. You expressed doubts about its authenticity, but it has many features of a typical Sufi story, such as the following. Firstly, Sufi stories depict some saints as Aulia, God's friend, who are capable of changing the fate of people and even the course of global events. Secondly, Sufi stories often claim that saints are spiritually purer and more knowledgeable than prophets such as Moses and Mohammed. Saints live alone, untouched by the world's sins and temptations, unlike prophets who live in the world and figuratively speaking "dip themselves into the mud" of the world in order to reach everyone, including criminals. For example, Prophet Mohammed stated that he got distracted from worshiping God 70 times a day. Thirdly, many Sufi stories feature Prophet Moses as a character who is not aware of some of the deepest spiritual knowledge.
These are very soothing videos leading into self inquiry. Thank you Mr Gorman. May be Bhagwan is talking thru you. Please keep it coming as long as you can do it.
The Taoist tradition says the same, that when one transcends duality and merges with tao, then you are freed from the destinies that occur in duality. Great videos always kind sir 🙏😊
-actually ramana’ maharashi teaching is far more radical. -those who abide in reality such as ramana; directly affirm that there is no one but alone only you! -therefore other or another or duality or many is completely illusory-
So, so valuable David! Maha Prasad truly! Thank you entirely. So much very specific and furthering help at this "razors edge" stretch in my sadhana The information re: Kundalini has eased my few, intellectual hesitations about AV., a practice I now am developing traction with - " Fix the volatile volatillze- the fixed". .it would seem to me to be though I am only in the synapse between those two imperatives. My kundalini is active for years and fairly unexamined although always palpable. A while back I gradually grew hesitant about it's actual.telos. Then I came across some info suggesting the kundalini is a kind of guard dog of material evolution and that letting it into one's head is tantamount to spiritual suicide and an absorbtion into the demiurgic. And, then the Taoist warn re Kundalini, "Don't cook your brain" The information you provided regarding the Heart is highly informative.
I think that the Maharshi does answer the question of "fate/destiny vs. free will/effort" in verse 19 in the Forty Verses on Reality. Verse 19 says, "The talk (controversy) of fate and effort (striving) shall be for Them who do not know the root of these two. For those who know well the root thing of fate and effort, There are not, indeed, fate or one's activity (free will). Fate or effort must occur for, or to, "some one". That some one would be the false notion of being an individual, an ego. When one misidentifies as being an individual, the "root" or Existence is unknown. Through inquiry, the notion of individuality is dissolved by the Knowledge that one is truly the Self/Existence (the root), for which there is not fate or effort. Remove the individual and what happens to destiny and free will? To find out more about verse 19, you can read the commentary in the book, "Saddarsanam" starting on page 215. You can find the book here: www.amazon.com/Saddarsanam-Inquiry-Revelation-Truth-Oneself/dp/0981940900/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=saddarsanam&qid=1611489081&sr=8-1 In the Maharshi's instruction to his mother, ..."That which is not destined will not happen despite every effort. What is destined is bound to happen. This is certain. Therefore the best course is to remain silent". I think the key is the final sentence in his instruction. To remain "silent" is to remain in one's true Self (not venturing "out" by imagining one to be embodied with a mind), which is egoless and "I" less. By remaining "silent" and egoless, one is not subject to fate or free will. Inquire to know yourself and be transcendent of fate and will. It is the greatest of blessings to be Sri Ramana's devotee!
So wonderful! I especially appreciated the Kundalini information as this was my experience 💜 Profuse thanks David! I always look forward to your videos. Blessings All 🙏
But David your journey and dedication to revealing the teachings has helped so many people so what you are doing is helping and fixing the world- So shouldn’t everyone do what they know to do to help enlighten and fix the world? If you wouldn’t answer these questions make these videos or your books the world would be significantly different? You don’t have to think it’s you doing it to grow your ego but God is fixing the world through you that’s how God fixes the world...
Agreed, I am of Indian descent but I got to know of Bhagwan through David's youtube videos. So, what David is doing is of immense importance to all of us.
Yes, " let go and let God" as per the old saying. Peace to me is each individual on their own path to self-realization and in humble, heart centered service to others. How beautiful a world we can create! And I do feel in 2021, it is around the corner for all. No mud, no lotus. ✌
I love to have these videos on as I practice (muted) nylon string guitar. They are so soothing and interesting! Must keep up self-enquiry... Ramana is really not kidding when he says 'Dhyana (meditation) means fight'. The beautiful inner fight that is only won after many lifetimes, or so it seems from my perspective. Thanks everyone for commenting, and thank you Ramanasramam for your great work, it has saved my life more than once.
I found a 1947 edition of "Who Am I?" at the Ames Library in University of Minnesota - and when I touched the book then I got shakti. That book, btw, does show the kundalini going up the spine. That image is not found anywhere online from Ramana Maharshi as far as I've seen. thanks
To the question if we are not in control of our thoughts....according to Hindu scriptures we are born with vasanas or grooves or tendencies which produce thoughts and force us to act. These vasanas are based on our previous birth activities, desires, karma etc. eg. a thief will still be carrying the vasana to steal. Meditation on the Atman or Self slowly erases these vasanas there by reducing thoughts and desires and enabling purer thoughts which will lead to spiritual progress.
Thank you,Sir, for this discourse. Bhagat himself has said some where that prarabhda karma also can be changed by a Jani. Shri Ramakrishna in the GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA says that prarabhda karma can also be changed by a Jani. Holy mother Sharada Devi also says in her teachings that prarabda karma can be changed by the GURU. Mata Amritananda mayi tells the story of how prarabda karma can be changed by the GURU. This is from the purchase. Sage Narada came to a village on earth and enquire about the welfare of the people there. One man told him that he is blessed with everything but has no children. He asked Narada to find out from Lord Narayana in Vaikuntha if he is destined to have children in this life. Narada agreed and went to Vaikuntha and asked Lord Narayana about this. The Lord said that that man is not destined to have children in this birth. After a few years Narada visited the same village and saw the same man playing with few children Narada was perplexed and asked him whose children they were. Tha man replied that they were his. Narada went to Vaikunth and asked the Lord how was it that this man has children. The Laord said : OH Narada , that must be work of some Saint. Narada came to the earth and asked the man how he got the children. The man said that arrest Saint visited the village and he served him and received the blessing to have children. Sage Bharthrihari said: Karma is greater than God because even God can not change one's Karma; but the GURU is greater than both Karma and God. Kashmir Shaivism says that GURU is the grace bestowing power of God. The great Siddha GURU Swami Muktananda of Ganeshpuri ( maharastra) said that when the GURU gives initiation to the disciple, he takes his karmic account book ( so to speak) and starts making changes So, Bhagawan Ramana's saying that every thing is predetermined is true. But, the GURU can change it. He himself has said that.He said everything is within the Jani and hence he can do it. Mata Amritananda gives this example: if a man is destined to get his leg amputated due to some past karma, by his Guru's grace he will just get a thorn prick instead of an amputation.Karma has to be worked out at least in a token fashion. I'm sure, any one would prefer a little Thorn prick to a leg amputation. OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
Hi David thanks so much - I don’t think there is any conflict between everything predetermined and you having free choice because we don’t know what the predetermined plan is so for us it is actual free choice
Great pointers explained by D. Godman. thankyou so much David your doing an invaluable service for the World. And thankyou for the book 'Beas you are". Would you be able to send me a signed copy of the book 'Be as you Are? Either way I hope to see ore of these priceless videos that clarify the finer points of Bhagwans teachings. bless you.
23:20 = from the head to the heart-center;26:20 =in his transcripts ,R. Adams says : don't react;27:00 = witnessing the thoughts (vipassana) may be good, but that is not the SE of Bhn;feeling the peace that comes from the words of truth (31:40);
About determinism and freedom (first question): I'm wondering if it is correct to say this: Determinism is a concept. As a concept, it is only relevant to describe the objective world, that is, the world described by physics. The objective world is the world in which all actions and thoughts occur. The Self is not contained in the objective world. Accessing the self means accessing a "dimension" "in" which the objective world appears, and which is not accounted for when studying the objective world. If, for example, we admit that the objective world is a four dimensional manifold (spacetime in Einstein's theory of relativity), we could think of the Self as a space with at least an additional dimension. Determinism would apply along the dimensions of spacetime, but not along the other dimensions. We could even say that spacetime is defined as a hyperplane of the greater space (the Self) on which determinism applies. This would be consistent with the fact that spacetime is the only thing we "see". Determinism, or at least a certain regularity, is necessary for the emergence of objective perception, i.e. perception of entities that we can discuss with language and independently validate as separate individuals. This would also be consistent with the statement that we (individual entities of the objective world) are determined, including our thoughts. And nevertheless, we (the Self) can "change the course of our destiny", that is, focus our attention to a slightly or entirely different possibility within ourselves. In fact, just because our attention is now focused on this particular point in spacetime, there is no reason to believe that it will follow the direction of time, and that it will next focus on the next individual objective experience that the memory is pointing at as being consistent with itself and not yet experienced. That "next" experience is just a point in the unfathomable space of possibilities that is the Self. Another way to see it is to see that life of the Self is free to create new information. To the contrary, the perceived universe is a dead universe in the sense that no new information can enter it. This is the same as saying it is predetermined. Everything has been said. Now let's imagine a particular trajectory of the Self's focus of attention. There is no reason to believe such a trajectory would be continuous, but let's assume it would be, because this is easier for us to picture. Such a "trajectory" could follow any path and take any curve. But at any point of the trajectory, the perceivable, objective universe would seem like a straight line corresponding to the derivative of the curve. The straight line would represent the determined path of the necessary course of events extending into one direction for the past and one for the future. It would not be the actual path of the Self's attention, but the only imaginary path compatible with objective perception, which implies determinism, which implies no new information, which implies a straight line in this representation. In other words, the only creatures capable of perceiving manifestations of the Self in the way we know it are "dead" creatures, in the sense that they necessarily emerge in a determined path, and their perception is a determined process. But the Self is not dead. It is free to invent any new information and any new possibilities. This is at the expense of not being able to perceive itself in the way "dead" individual entities perceive. This is probably only a limitation as seen from the limited perspective of "dead" individual entities.
first and foremost one has to wake up to the fact that ALL is ONE, there is no subject or object or any other being or thing that we have to deal or even struggle with. there is really no person who has to find a purpose in life and keep track of a path. there is just this one immesurably rich life in all its ever-changing forms and facets that we have to get familiar with. getting familiar with this natural perfection is what true meditation means.
Can you please say a few words why young souls pass away from this world? It’s so painful for the family. My son was just 24 . The vacuum is unbearable without him .
I love the near beginning idea/quote, I found the determinism from the Master offputting. I always seem to recently have more consideration when I listen to Papa or anything recently. Really staying in the self state or effort less state or etc enhances the consideration. I listened to a lot of Papa recently almost all of his satsangs, and think a lot about the idea of the yugas or many million year cycles of the galaxy or etc, and think about how the beliefs came about in the first place. And how its possible that a true truth seeker like Papa or etc, could still have automatic beliefs, or experiential belief beliefs. Well they have done the job, I had a moment recently where I still didnt do anything and the whole baseline of myself went to zero for a second without effort. So it is a good practice, its the penultimate in meditation and meditation philosophy. Being completely silent? Complete discernment? Wonderful. And the great godhead even makes me fail a lot of times. But I like the story recently about the buddha who took the abuses of a critic for 6 hours until his abuses ran out. And that he took it all with a smile on his face, etc. Very mystical mysterious writings about the buddha and etc.
Like there are a number of different galactic/spiritual evolution cycle ideas in new age. Yet none of them have correlated this with the actual rotation of the galaxy in a circular path, 200 million years I think. Wiki. Of course there are possible loopholes, maybe as many as there are teachers. Yet i like to bring the raw discernment up.
What did Ramana mean when he said: "destroy the I thought? the I thought no longer rises". Does the simple knowledge "I AM", the awareness of being remain in the one who is enlightened? I suppose if someone had asked Ramana, "are you aware?" He would have replied: "yes, I am aware". Does the mere use of thought as a function remain? Can you help me clarify this doubt? Thanks.
But if the future includes our thoughts, and the future is predetermined, doesn’t that mean our thoughts are also predetermined? If we don’t know our next thought, as what it will be is influenced by many factors, then isn’t our next thought out of our choice/free will?
Question. What should we do if during deep meditation if we are visited and shown that we are suppose to do something to help raise the vibration of the world. I feel the best way to do this is to raise your own vibration but if you were shown a healing frequency during meditation or anything else where you feel you are being guided by spirit should we assume that is the ego self?? Or if visited by shiva should we take that as a truth and guidance for our path??
Does anyone please understand what David tells when he qoutes Ramana's favourite gita part? The time in video is 40:23. I hear "I'm the self ??something?? in the heart of all beings...".
Oh my friend found. It is chapter 10 of most likely Bhagavad gita which says: 20. I am the Self, O Gudakesha, seated in the hearts of all beings! I am the beginning, the middle and also the end of all beings.
Now I finished the book Q&A with Ramana all the 3 parts... I noticed many times Ramanas tells the questioner in front of him "does the world comes to you and says that it exist? Where is the world in deep sleep? After waking you say the world is there" but somehow that's not true.. Women come and want attention... They say look I also exist.. Even if you have sound sleep they will not allow you to sleep. Your wife will wake you up. She will say He I am also here... Or if you stop paying your bills because the world does not exist.. Police will come and put you on jail
Yes..like in dream all is real for you...same way in waking everything is real. In dream world...your real world is not real...in real world your dream world is not real. Either both are real or none of them. Because this world's existence is "denied" in dream. You only say this when wake up. Ponder over this. Everything appears real. But are they really real "always"? What is real will never appear and then disappear. All these are messages of bhagvan. I acted just as a mediator.
If there is one I that is Real, then there is no one else to have a free will separate from that I. In the mistaken view of the separate self, there is the notion of free will. In that states of confusion the true free will is surrendering to the real I. Any thoughts? 🙏
I tend to believe that there is no free will, and everything that happens in the material world is a question of destiny. I like this perspective because it reduces my suffering. May we all emerge from the state of confusion haha! Thanks for your comment.
I believe you've described that quite well. According to Sri Ramana free will and destiny only exists in the phenomenal world. The actions of the body are entirely determined by prarabdha karma, even the slightest movement is pre-determined by "birth". If fully grasped it can create a sense of relief since all the attempts and efforts of the mind to improve or advance are unnecessary and part of the delusion. There seems to be a free will in form that the mind can wish and think and believe anything it wants, that is not determined entirely, however our vasanas still indirectly determine (at least partly) what we like to think in form of our likes and dislikes. The only true choice we have is either to attend to 'I am" with Self-Inquiry or to be involved with the phenomenal world and thoughts. At any moment we have the free will to make that choice. Anything else is maya, samsara, delusion as is the habit to not attend to 'I am'.
I see no free will even in noble thougbts since all thoughts are based on privious thoughts its all a matter of conditioning by a collective ego. I liken thoughts as a rushing river move through the path of least resistance. Eventually it will merge into the infinite ocean of consciousness. Comcepts of right and wrong are relative and dualistic experiences that appear and disappear until we question who we think we are.
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One warm afternoon in 1996 I took a short nap. I awoke within it to find myself standing in the presence of a huge sun or sphere of light, quickly understanding that this sun was pure conscious awareness. Although its surface was only swirling light and did not have a face, it seemed as if it was smiling at me and had nothing but love for me.
I felt its thoughts as one with my own and felt it peering deeply into my own awareness, knowing everything about me all at once. Standing in its presence I was overcome by a deep sense of awe and at the same time I was surprised to find myself so fully conscious in this empty, but light-filled void. There was nothing in existence for me but myself and this bright bluish-white sun smiling its awareness at me. It was unlike any place on earth, and yet as real as waking reality. In fact, it was more real; I was super-conscious.
Suddenly I came to a profound awareness that this sun was God! I was so overwhelmed and surprised that God was real that I mentally gasped and then yelled out, "You're Real!" I had always had a deep mistrust of religion. Years before this experience, I had decided for many seemingly valid reasons that religion and God were only a product of the human mind, yet there I was standing in the presence of what I knew without a doubt was God. What I had previously thought to be the truth about the universe was shattered and I stood there stunned, having had my world turned around so quickly.
I was happy because I had always hoped that God was real and that there was a future beyond the physical. As I stood in its presence, I perceived myself to be nothing but pure awareness and without a body. This sun of awareness fully merged with me, seeing everything inside of me. It saw everything I had ever done (and failed to do) both good and bad, and yet I did not sense or feel this Being was judging me or my past. There was no serial or motion-picture-like review of my life, just a sudden and full knowing about all things I have ever done, thought and experienced.
Because this sun of awareness/God was peering so fully and deeply into me, I felt totally naked, more naked than if I were standing without clothes in front of a million people. This Being seemed to be the consciousness of everyone I had ever known plus that of millions of others. It seemed to be everyone, but incredible as it might seem, most of all it seemed to be me.
Even though I had no awareness of having a boy, this feeling of nakedness was more than I could stand. Before I had time to think about what I was doing, I began moving away from this Being as fast as I could. It wasn t that I was afraid, nor that I wanted to get away from this wonderful sun of light, it was more like an automatic response to feeling more naked than I thought naked could be.
As I was traveling away from this Being I found myself bursting through some kind of barrier into a blackness that was filled with wonderful stars; space. As I continued moving forward at a tremendous speed through the star fields, I soon found myself slowing down as if I was up against another barrier or membrane. It seemed to stretch slightly and then I burst through it into another blackness of star-filled space.
I continued to speed away faster and faster, but regardless of how much physical distance I traveled, I was never any farther away from the sun of awareness at all. I quickly traveled through several star-filled spaces, at least six of them beyond the great sphere of light, each separated from one another by barriers that I was easily penetrating. As I passed through each layer, my speed increased each time, but its consciousness was still with me. It was still deeply within my own consciousness.
All of a sudden, I fell through the top of my bedroom ceiling, hit my body with a jolt and immediately woke up. The jolt was so strong that my bed physically bounced as my body jerked awake in response to the sudden stop. I opened my eyes and immediately spoke in a low and powerful voice, "I am that great I am." I said this almost involuntarily; the words spilled out of my mouth without even thinking about what or why I was saying it. I also knew what this meant: that I was the very consciousness that I was trying to get away from!
As much as I tried to get away from that Sun of Awareness, I could never get one fraction of an inch farther away from it, no matter how far or fast I traveled. Even after waking up, it was still with me. To this day, I still feel and know its presence. I believe that this Sun/Intelligence/God wasn't a single Being, but is the center of all beings, that it is me, you and perhaps all conscious beings.
From this experience I think that somewhere at the center of each of us is a spark of this same light, and without it we would not have consciousness, and perhaps without us it would not exist either. As I was flying away from this being, I had the impression that I was traveling through several layers within a sphere, but I was bursting through layers like the layers of an onion but between each layer was star-filled space. I can't really tell you if I was traveling from the inside out, or the outside in, but as I traveled through them I had an impression that the farther I got from the sphere of light, the smaller I got and the more divided I became.
As I was returning I felt like I was not only traveling through spheres within spheres, but also as if I were traveling from the top of a pyramid down, the peak an all seeing eye of omni-present consciousness, the blocks below all of the individuals which make the whole. While trying to move away I could both see and feel myself splitting into more and more diverse copies of myself, each branching off into many other branches of selves which also split into their own branches, dividing and dividing into ever larger numbers.
Because of this experience, I came to see everyone around me as myself. At the same time, I also see this as equally true from everyone else's perspective, that I am them too. They too can look around and only see other parts of themselves, other selves experiencing life from another point of view, separated by their physical bodies and world, by their individual minds and wills, but in reality they are one at their core.
These feelings and thoughts were so strong within me that I had trouble referring to other people at work as anything other than "I". I had a tendency to think about others as just another part of myself. Just as I think about my hands as being a part of me, I would sometimes refer to others as "I" instead of the name of the person. For example, instead of saying, "He had finished working on that project" it came out as "I had finished working on that project." I had to re-learn how to refer to others as separate from myself. After four years, I still think of others as myself, but now I can stop from verbalizing it.
If I had the chance to do it over again and stand in the presence of this sun-intelligence-God, I wouldn't run away from it no matter how startling it is to be seen to such depth. I now hope that I would stand in its presence no matter how naked I felt. I don't believe that my motive for running was because I couldn't stand to face the light, or that I felt like a bad person, but because I was so unaccustomed to being seen so fully, so suddenly, so clearly and to such depth. Unfortunately my flight away from it took place before I could think of what I was doing and why.
The words I spoke after the experience, "I am that great I am" meant that, although I am individual here, I am also a part of every other consciousness at the great central point of consciousness; God. I am now secure in the knowledge that this presence of consciousness has always been with me, and that I have never been alone and never will be alone. I now know that this presence is closer to me than anything else in the universe. I had been so accustomed to it that I didn t know it was there, much like becoming used to a smell in a room, once you are there with it long enough, it begins to fade into the background. Like silence, it is always there, maybe in the background, behind and between the sounds, but always there. Like a quiet pure awareness, completely silent but ever present. To find it within listen to the silence and then try to find what is behind it, it's there as strong as your own silent awareness forever smiling at you.
When this happened I had been affected by severe sleep apnea where I could just stop breathing for minutes, as reported to me by my wife who kept waking me so I would breath again. Due to this, is possible I stopped breathing for some period of time, but since I was sleeping, I have no way to know whether this happened that day as I was alone in bed when this happened.
I work as a RF engineer in satellite telecommunications, from RF theory, I see the selves we are as individuals as the modulation riding upon a pure carrier wave, in this experience, that carrier wave can be thought of as the ever present consciousness we are all a part of, call it God, the life carrier for all beings or what have you, that is what I think we all really are, it is silent and unmodulated, we are the carrier modulators which have come into being as a myriad of individuals riding upon it. In essence, that is our true self under it all as the silent watcher.
Great recounting of a great and amazing experience; a "full-blown, tactile, indelible "l am that great l am" experience.
Thank you so much for sharing.
One, thank you for sharing. Beautiful
Why do you say "after four years" if this happened in 1996?
🙏🏼thank u❤When I read Bhagavans words I feel a lot of bliss consciousness, and know who I am ….the deep abiding presence of silence inside. There is not a Continuous feeling of bliss as the world pulls me out too sometimes, but I know/Remember who I am most of the time😊🙏🏼
Wonderful to see you. It must have been in 1998 or 1999 during my visit in ramanashram I was standing near to you while we all got the possibility to see and hear the last living desiple of beloved ramana maharshi…..he opened the door to his garden only once a year!i never forget what i have gotten this morning! Sorry my English. So Long ago I am still on the way. But it is more freedom and quietness there….may you be blessed Maria Luise
David, many years ago (I think we are the same age), I studied many books, from Plato to Gurdjeff, from the Bhagavad Gita to krishnamurti and followed many exercises and lessons. Two books have made a special impression on me: the Asthavakra Samhita and the book you wrote. It has helped me to let go of all learning systems, all dogma'. My mind is still strong and clear, my feelings calm and I realize that I am not all that. Silence remains an important exercise, I find that in small things like walking. I am going to read Ramana's Upadesa Saram again, especially the last 15 verses.
did you find Ramana to be the clearest teacher?
@@nicolasaybar5318 yes!
@@hansgouda8593 Im glad you find your way. Im currently embarking my path and already went through all the teachers you mentioned.
For some reason, Ramanas teaching hits on another level. Gonna trust him
@@nicolasaybar5318 And I still remember some words of my "first teacher" (Socrates): I don't know. I really don't know, that's why I prefer the silence or as Krishnamurti put it with 'choiceless awareness. Ramana is a great example in this.
@hansgouda8593 Hi, Could you please tell me which book David wrote impressed you the most? Thanks! 🙏
I actually had this discussion with David Godman on a forum about 15 years ago. Ramana Maharshi had an experience of "cutting the knot" as "eternal liberation" after his heart stopped for 15 minutes - after nine years of nonstop meditation. After that "cutting of the knot" then he was able to be both in the world and not in the world since every thought he had then emptied his spiritual ego back to the formless awareness or "ether" that powered his spirit. This is equivalent to going beyond the right side vagus nerve to the right side of the heart that Ramana Maharshi had identified as the "secret pinhole" to the formless awareness. thanks.
What I can deduce from David's talk is that Bhagwan is talking at the very very highest level of existence.
Yes.
Many thanks and love to all ... as one
No, not the highest but the deepest.
@@ChiefCowpie whats the difference sir between highest and deepest in the spiritual sense
@@earther-v2wBliss monkeys want to get high and hop from one blissful experience to the next until they are burned out. Truth seekers accept where they are and go within, deep within to find the Truth of their existence.
Thank you David for taking the time in echoing your thoughts alongside responding to the wonderful questions from several devotees of Sri.Ramana Maharshi.
I Love the teachings ,I do find the ads invasive, that flash out of nowhere.
Very beautiful upadesha. David, as always, I press my hands together in gratitude for your seva to all of humanity.
Do we need the physical presence of the guru?
15:36 the Self is in the heart center of all
17:59 always available to you
18:40 turn your attention within, there you find the true guru
No, we do not need the physical presence of the guru, If that were the case, then no one would ever rise in spiritual vision and would be just as blurred as was many years ago. You do not need a guru to spark the light of the searching, that occurs without thought, without trying. A guru can help kindle the flame however, but in the end only you can blow the kindling into a raging fire. Time and space is of the material world and so the physical proximity of a guru is not important, but the spiritual proximity....
Oh, this is very useful! Thanks so much for taking the time to do this I Am!
My experience is that, without the guru, the illumination does not occur.
@@afriend621 Having a human guru is definitely a huge blessing, no doubt! What do you mean by 'illumination' exactly? Self-realization? Could I ask who your guru is?
Ramana Maharshi. This Saint transcends "physical" and "spiritual". Make a sincere prayer from the depths of your Being when you are ready. You will know what illumination is when it comes. Have no doubt.
Love to see and hear you David
You have pulled me and eased my life I I thank you x
David, you and Ramana just took away all my bleeding heart guilt about not doing more to help people. There’s such a difference between feeling like one should save the world versus offering assistance to someone in front of you without any expectations that they will be happier.
So many extroverts in this guilt complex.... & then many don't even know when to stop.... This journey is like Pandora's Box no idea what's revealed
Hello, Kiwi: Thank you for the loving energy that come out of your words. I, took a break from "charity" after asking myself: Are you gaining value from helping others? Do you feel a stronger sense of self by offering help? Do you place sense of self-value on what you can do or have done or did for others?. Then after that, I learn that the greatest gift to the world is when one is no longer bound to this world. as David quoted in one video, we can build dream house, dream food, dream car, dream war to take care of dream problems, dream conflict for dream characters or we can turn within and hold that space as the inner guru and make changes within which in turn changes the without. Please step back and see "bleeding heart guilt", who is the one that feels? To whom these feelings occur? The "I' that tells us how we feel is the false sense of I that is to be looked at as Who Am I self enquiry practice and not what we are aware of.
Thanks David.
A bird never flew on one wing,
So the saying goes.
One wing bhakti, the other gnana,
Self alone knows.
🙏🎵🙏
Thank you David there is many you tube videos about Bhagavan Ramana but I always come back to your beautiful "Talks on Ramana Maharishi". It inspired me to find Ramana`s most important books and read them daily as my sadhana. Thank you again.
Thank you, David. I always enjoy and appreciate your satsangs so much.
David this question and answer session is a boon for all devotees .I wish i would have met you 40 years before.Next time i come to Tiru i would be happy to meet you.I am a friend of the 2 Swami Ramananandas.The first being Sri Punjaji's Swami Ramanananda and the second being the recently passed away Sw.Ramanananda of Varuna Linga. Arunachalam!
I experienced a state of oneness whereby everything I looked at was me, after perhaps 10 minutes and walking about my home in amazement, I stopped and was just looking, the knowing came to me “I am all there is”. I never considered that experience after that, until several years after I experienced nirvikalpa at age 49. The weird thing, up until nirvikalpa I was always very peaceful in every situation, traffic, people actually crashing into me, I would say don’t worry. At work in emergency environments. I did martial arts for about 20 years but had no interest in getting the belts. No matter what I did I would do it to a very high level, my martial arts instructor asked me to prepare for the Olympics, I didn’t bother. In my work also very high performing but I would never compete. When I would go for interviews for jobs, if they ask, so what do you want, my answer would naturally be , to be able to help.
After the nirvikalpa all of that peace stopped, I became very agitated about being recognised for the work I was doing, I came close to joining martial arts clubs in order to get my belts, I was doing courses all of the time to get more certificates . My ego went berserk, it was as if it had been quiet 40 years and had just been woken up and realised it had lots of catching up to do…. It was so bizarre.
I should add, I had no knowledge of any of these states, meditation, spirituality etc, I came from average Australian atheist family, but I did have a sense of something bigger, I guess I was a slow learner.
Thank you David so much for explaining Bhagavan's teachings so clearly!!
The first question. I Asked my master was about this or pradabla karma his response was Richard to the sage none of this matters...and there was immediate peace...thank you...
Hello, Mr. Godman. Just hearing this now. I am excited to hear about your forthcoming work on Maurice Frydman, who has fascinated me for years. I tried myself to research him, and found many references to him in Gandhi's volumes, but this is long ago. I recently heard on a TH-cam video that Nisargadatta had once been asked who, if anyone, had gotten his teaching in full, and his answer was Maurice. I believe it was Maurice who had asked that. I have great respect for this Pole who learned Marati and who gave us the I Am That, which brought so many to the teachings. I feel he is not given his due in documentaries about Nisargadatta and hope to learn much from your research. Blessings and thanks for your astute keeping of the light in this regard and for Ramana of course.
Thank you david you are a true brother. lots of love.
Because everything is consciousness, the body is also a thought, as is the entire world. It's essentially the same as the thoughts that we have in the so called mind. My understanding is that when Sri Ramana said we have the freedom to choose whether to identify or not to identify as the doer of the body, he is also referring to the identification as teh the thinker of thoughts as well.
So relieved to hear that one can practice both devotion and self enquiry for the better. "Of course!"
Thanks David it,s always nice to hear from you and your insights.....
Great talk David. The first question which asks are our thoughts predetermined is in a way asking if there is free will?. One disciple of Sri Ramakrishna paramhansa who had read western literature put this question before Ramakrishna paramhansa. Does free will exist in man?. To which the answer was "Did you read this concept in a western literature?. There is only freedom". Swami vivekananda puts it even more clearly "As long as the Jiva is trapped within time, space and causation, there really is no freedom but only an illusion of freedom exists".
Swami Vivekananda, song of the sannyasin
Who sows must reap,” they say, “and cause must bring
The sure effect; good, good; bad, bad; and none
Escape the law. But whoso wears a form
Must wear the chain.” Too true; but far beyond
Both name and form is Atman, ever free.
Know thou art That, Sannyasin bold! Say-
“Om Tat Sat, Om! ”
Fantastic talk and humbling.
That's an amazing kind of "re enectment" David is giving here, I knew years ago that his work was important, no doubt Baghavan is talking through his words now. Thank you "both" of YOU
Yes Papaji’s Sufi Moses story is based on numerous Chassidic tales where the righteous let people know that what was decreed had been changed by either a righteous persons blessing or a truly righteous act or change of lifestyle...
-sufi in the original phrase was is an Islamic or muslim saint or sage .And so this means all the Abrahamic religions: Judaism Christianity and Islam have the prophet Moses in their religious books-
@@beejumittahb8527 yes but the main thing isn’t what we have in our books but what is in our hearts …Those books have caused good and evil mixed together with people on the outside acting properly or some killing each-other in the name of what is written in their book or interpretation…What we need is to go beyond the book and thought and the saint can help us do that yet we must make it on our own effort …
🙏🌻💛pranams to you David Godman , so happy as ever to listen to you
Thank you
Beautiful ❤️ Namaste 🙏🏼 and Thankyou
David, thank you so much for making all these videos and sharing them with us
Let's take it different. It is determined to write this message. While I'm writing, the thoughts are coming because I have to write them.
You’re so pure. Bless you and God keep you.
Thank you to David Godman. A question and answer such is this is incredibly valuable for the whole of humanity because your answers bring together the fruits of a lifetime devoted to seeking out and disseminating the wisdom of Bhagavan and of those in his lineage.
I enjoyed this information. Thank you!
Dear David, Thank you for your exceptional service. Listening to you is always a pleasure. I loved the way Bhagwan explained the difference between Nirvikalpa Samadhi and Sahaja, and the comment about the leaving one's worldly duty to solely pursue spiritual practices.
Namaste.
Krish Shetty
Thank you, David, for sharing the Sufi story. You expressed doubts about its authenticity, but it has many features of a typical Sufi story, such as the following. Firstly, Sufi stories depict some saints as Aulia, God's friend, who are capable of changing the fate of people and even the course of global events. Secondly, Sufi stories often claim that saints are spiritually purer and more knowledgeable than prophets such as Moses and Mohammed. Saints live alone, untouched by the world's sins and temptations, unlike prophets who live in the world and figuratively speaking "dip themselves into the mud" of the world in order to reach everyone, including criminals. For example, Prophet Mohammed stated that he got distracted from worshiping God 70 times a day. Thirdly, many Sufi stories feature Prophet Moses as a character who is not aware of some of the deepest spiritual knowledge.
These are very soothing videos leading into self inquiry. Thank you Mr Gorman.
May be Bhagwan is talking thru you.
Please keep it coming as long as you can do it.
The Taoist tradition says the same, that when one transcends duality and merges with tao, then you are freed from the destinies that occur in duality. Great videos always kind sir 🙏😊
-actually ramana’ maharashi teaching is far more radical.
-those who abide in reality such as ramana; directly affirm that there is no one but alone only you!
-therefore other or another or duality or many is completely illusory-
So, so valuable David! Maha Prasad truly! Thank you entirely. So much very specific and furthering help at this "razors edge" stretch in my sadhana The information re: Kundalini has eased my few, intellectual hesitations about AV., a practice I now am developing traction with - " Fix the volatile volatillze- the fixed". .it would seem to me to be though I am only in the synapse between those two imperatives. My kundalini is active for years and fairly unexamined although always palpable. A while back I gradually grew hesitant about it's actual.telos. Then I came across some info suggesting the kundalini is a kind of guard dog of material evolution and that letting it into one's head is tantamount to spiritual suicide and an absorbtion into the demiurgic. And, then the Taoist warn re Kundalini, "Don't cook your brain" The information you provided regarding the Heart is highly informative.
Much appreciation - for your talks - David
I think that the Maharshi does answer the question of "fate/destiny vs. free will/effort" in verse 19 in the Forty Verses on Reality. Verse 19 says,
"The talk (controversy) of fate and effort (striving) shall be for
Them who do not know the root of these two.
For those who know well the root thing of fate and effort,
There are not, indeed, fate or one's activity (free will).
Fate or effort must occur for, or to, "some one". That some one would be the false notion of being an individual, an ego. When one misidentifies as being an individual, the "root" or Existence is unknown. Through inquiry, the notion of individuality is dissolved by the Knowledge that one is truly the Self/Existence (the root), for which there is not fate or effort. Remove the individual and what happens to destiny and free will?
To find out more about verse 19, you can read the commentary in the book, "Saddarsanam" starting on page 215. You can find the book here:
www.amazon.com/Saddarsanam-Inquiry-Revelation-Truth-Oneself/dp/0981940900/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=saddarsanam&qid=1611489081&sr=8-1
In the Maharshi's instruction to his mother,
..."That which is not destined will not happen despite every effort. What is destined is bound to happen. This is certain. Therefore the best course is to remain silent".
I think the key is the final sentence in his instruction. To remain "silent" is to remain in one's true Self (not venturing "out" by imagining one to be embodied with a mind), which is egoless and "I" less. By remaining "silent" and egoless, one is not subject to fate or free will.
Inquire to know yourself and be transcendent of fate and will.
It is the greatest of blessings to be Sri Ramana's devotee!
So wonderful! I especially appreciated the Kundalini information as this was my experience 💜 Profuse thanks David! I always look forward to your videos. Blessings All 🙏
But David your journey and dedication to revealing the teachings has helped so many people so what you are doing is helping and fixing the world- So shouldn’t everyone do what they know to do to help enlighten and fix the world? If you wouldn’t answer these questions make these videos or your books the world would be significantly different? You don’t have to think it’s you doing it to grow your ego but God is fixing the world through you that’s how God fixes the world...
Agreed, I am of Indian descent but I got to know of Bhagwan through David's youtube videos. So, what David is doing is of immense importance to all of us.
Well said and its true. Love and Serve everyone
Yes, " let go and let God" as per the old saying.
Peace to me is each individual on their own path to self-realization and in humble, heart centered service to others. How beautiful a world we can create! And I do feel in 2021, it is around the corner for all. No mud, no lotus. ✌
Did u get atleast a touch of it.is it that makes u persist on this path.
@@detkdp yes
I love to have these videos on as I practice (muted) nylon string guitar. They are so soothing and interesting! Must keep up self-enquiry... Ramana is really not kidding when he says 'Dhyana (meditation) means fight'. The beautiful inner fight that is only won after many lifetimes, or so it seems from my perspective. Thanks everyone for commenting, and thank you Ramanasramam for your great work, it has saved my life more than once.
I find working on the subconscious mind really helps. To clear all subconscious programmes.
This was very nice. It answered many questions for me. Thank you !
Thank you for these wonderful informative videos from David.
I found a 1947 edition of "Who Am I?" at the Ames Library in University of Minnesota - and when I touched the book then I got shakti. That book, btw, does show the kundalini going up the spine. That image is not found anywhere online from Ramana Maharshi as far as I've seen. thanks
Please take a picture and upload it somewhere and send the link. Thanks
David we r greatful for ya...
To the question if we are not in control of our thoughts....according to Hindu scriptures we are born with vasanas or grooves or tendencies which produce thoughts and force us to act. These vasanas are based on our previous birth activities, desires, karma etc. eg. a thief will still be carrying the vasana to steal. Meditation on the Atman or Self slowly erases these vasanas there by reducing thoughts and desires and enabling purer thoughts which will lead to spiritual progress.
Thank you so much for sharing yourSelf!
This was excellent. Namaste.
Thank you so much from Spain🙏
Thank you,Sir, for this discourse.
Bhagat himself has said some where that prarabhda karma also can be changed by a Jani. Shri Ramakrishna in the GOSPEL OF SRI RAMAKRISHNA says that prarabhda karma can also be changed by a Jani. Holy mother Sharada Devi also says in her teachings that prarabda karma can be changed by the GURU.
Mata Amritananda mayi tells the story of how prarabda karma can be changed by the GURU. This is from the purchase. Sage Narada came to a village on earth and enquire about the welfare of the people there. One man told him that he is blessed with everything but has no children. He asked Narada to find out from Lord Narayana in Vaikuntha if he is destined to have children in this life. Narada agreed and went to Vaikuntha and asked Lord Narayana about this. The Lord said that that man is not destined to have children in this birth. After a few years Narada visited the same village and saw the same man playing with few children Narada was perplexed and asked him whose children they were.
Tha man replied that they were his. Narada went to Vaikunth and asked the Lord how was it that this man has children. The Laord said : OH Narada , that must be work of some Saint. Narada came to the earth and asked the man how he got the children. The man said that arrest Saint visited the village and he served him and received the blessing to have children.
Sage Bharthrihari said: Karma is greater than God because even God can not change one's Karma; but the GURU is greater than both Karma and God.
Kashmir Shaivism says that GURU is the grace bestowing power of God. The great Siddha GURU Swami Muktananda of Ganeshpuri ( maharastra) said that when the GURU gives initiation to the disciple, he takes his karmic account book ( so to speak) and starts making changes So, Bhagawan Ramana's saying that every thing is predetermined is true. But, the GURU can change it. He himself has said that.He said everything is within the Jani and hence he can do it. Mata Amritananda gives this example: if a man is destined to get his leg amputated due to some past karma, by his Guru's grace he will just get a thorn prick instead of an amputation.Karma has to be worked out at least in a token fashion. I'm sure, any one would prefer a little Thorn prick to a leg amputation.
OM NAMAH SHIVAYA
Hi David thanks so much - I don’t think there is any conflict between everything predetermined and you having free choice because we don’t know what the predetermined plan is so for us it is actual free choice
Agreed. Free will is merely a tool for each soul on this planet.
55-58 min the most precious words
🌹అరుణాచల ఆత్మానంద ఓం నమో భగవతే శ్రీ రమణయ🙏🙏
Great pointers explained by D. Godman. thankyou so much David your doing an invaluable service for the World. And thankyou for the book 'Beas you are". Would you be able to send me a signed copy of the book 'Be as you Are? Either way I hope to see ore of these priceless videos that clarify the finer points of Bhagwans teachings. bless you.
Good questions and great answers! Thank you!
A peaceful Mind externalized is evident in this form.
Thank you sir for your videos learnt a lot
Thank you such much David
“Sitting silently, doing nothing, spring comes and the grass grows by itself". - Basho
thank you. really great q & a.
David is the man!
The book is told sorry'money'us'lie, hence the condition Onchocerciasis, or river blindness (On'Show'Sorry'Eye'Sis)
Thank you David,
23:20 = from the head to the heart-center;26:20 =in his transcripts ,R. Adams says : don't react;27:00 = witnessing the thoughts (vipassana) may be good, but that is not the SE of Bhn;feeling the peace that comes from the words of truth (31:40);
About determinism and freedom (first question): I'm wondering if it is correct to say this:
Determinism is a concept. As a concept, it is only relevant to describe the objective world, that is, the world described by physics. The objective world is the world in which all actions and thoughts occur. The Self is not contained in the objective world. Accessing the self means accessing a "dimension" "in" which the objective world appears, and which is not accounted for when studying the objective world. If, for example, we admit that the objective world is a four dimensional manifold (spacetime in Einstein's theory of relativity), we could think of the Self as a space with at least an additional dimension. Determinism would apply along the dimensions of spacetime, but not along the other dimensions. We could even say that spacetime is defined as a hyperplane of the greater space (the Self) on which determinism applies.
This would be consistent with the fact that spacetime is the only thing we "see". Determinism, or at least a certain regularity, is necessary for the emergence of objective perception, i.e. perception of entities that we can discuss with language and independently validate as separate individuals.
This would also be consistent with the statement that we (individual entities of the objective world) are determined, including our thoughts. And nevertheless, we (the Self) can "change the course of our destiny", that is, focus our attention to a slightly or entirely different possibility within ourselves.
In fact, just because our attention is now focused on this particular point in spacetime, there is no reason to believe that it will follow the direction of time, and that it will next focus on the next individual objective experience that the memory is pointing at as being consistent with itself and not yet experienced. That "next" experience is just a point in the unfathomable space of possibilities that is the Self.
Another way to see it is to see that life of the Self is free to create new information. To the contrary, the perceived universe is a dead universe in the sense that no new information can enter it. This is the same as saying it is predetermined. Everything has been said. Now let's imagine a particular trajectory of the Self's focus of attention. There is no reason to believe such a trajectory would be continuous, but let's assume it would be, because this is easier for us to picture. Such a "trajectory" could follow any path and take any curve. But at any point of the trajectory, the perceivable, objective universe would seem like a straight line corresponding to the derivative of the curve. The straight line would represent the determined path of the necessary course of events extending into one direction for the past and one for the future. It would not be the actual path of the Self's attention, but the only imaginary path compatible with objective perception, which implies determinism, which implies no new information, which implies a straight line in this representation.
In other words, the only creatures capable of perceiving manifestations of the Self in the way we know it are "dead" creatures, in the sense that they necessarily emerge in a determined path, and their perception is a determined process. But the Self is not dead. It is free to invent any new information and any new possibilities. This is at the expense of not being able to perceive itself in the way "dead" individual entities perceive. This is probably only a limitation as seen from the limited perspective of "dead" individual entities.
Thank you so much! 🙏❤️
noone can choose the next thought, that's eminently evident
first and foremost one has to wake up to the fact that ALL is ONE, there is no subject or object or any other being or thing that we have to deal or even struggle with.
there is really no person who has to find a purpose in life and keep track of a path.
there is just this one immesurably rich life in all its ever-changing forms and facets that we have to get familiar with.
getting familiar with this natural perfection is what true meditation means.
Humble pranams to you sir
Can you please say a few words why young souls pass away from this world?
It’s so painful for the family. My son was just 24 . The vacuum is unbearable without him .
Very nice to watch from David. Nice.
I love the near beginning idea/quote, I found the determinism from the Master offputting. I always seem to recently have more consideration when I listen to Papa or anything recently. Really staying in the self state or effort less state or etc enhances the consideration. I listened to a lot of Papa recently almost all of his satsangs, and think a lot about the idea of the yugas or many million year cycles of the galaxy or etc, and think about how the beliefs came about in the first place. And how its possible that a true truth seeker like Papa or etc, could still have automatic beliefs, or experiential belief beliefs. Well they have done the job, I had a moment recently where I still didnt do anything and the whole baseline of myself went to zero for a second without effort. So it is a good practice, its the penultimate in meditation and meditation philosophy. Being completely silent? Complete discernment? Wonderful. And the great godhead even makes me fail a lot of times. But I like the story recently about the buddha who took the abuses of a critic for 6 hours until his abuses ran out. And that he took it all with a smile on his face, etc. Very mystical mysterious writings about the buddha and etc.
Like there are a number of different galactic/spiritual evolution cycle ideas in new age. Yet none of them have correlated this with the actual rotation of the galaxy in a circular path, 200 million years I think. Wiki. Of course there are possible loopholes, maybe as many as there are teachers. Yet i like to bring the raw discernment up.
David linear best performances / readings /quasi SATs ang❤😂
inward mind is freedom outward bondage
What did Ramana mean when he said: "destroy the I thought? the I thought no longer rises".
Does the simple knowledge "I AM", the awareness of being remain in the one who is enlightened?
I suppose if someone had asked Ramana, "are you aware?"
He would have replied: "yes, I am aware".
Does the mere use of thought as a function remain?
Can you help me clarify this doubt?
Thanks.
But if the future includes our thoughts, and the future is predetermined, doesn’t that mean our thoughts are also predetermined? If we don’t know our next thought, as what it will be is influenced by many factors, then isn’t our next thought out of our choice/free will?
These are great.....
Thanks david Intersting!!!
Hi David I wonder if you didn't get the question about spiritual bypass. Could you ponder the question again?
Destiny only effects the extroverted mind- ie the Ego, which is not real. Consciousness determines everything.
39:00 = R. Adams = "All is well";aham sphurana is a very good experience =58:00; 59:30 - 1:01:53 ;
Thanks for the latest video. What is the latest news about Sri Laxman Swami?
thank you David
Question. What should we do if during deep meditation if we are visited and shown that we are suppose to do something to help raise the vibration of the world. I feel the best way to do this is to raise your own vibration but if you were shown a healing frequency during meditation or anything else where you feel you are being guided by spirit should we assume that is the ego self?? Or if visited by shiva should we take that as a truth and guidance for our path??
So once we start the inquiry of self, do we start to change or divert our future?? And there for eliminate our karma in the process ??
Does anyone please understand what David tells when he qoutes Ramana's favourite gita part? The time in video is 40:23. I hear "I'm the self ??something?? in the heart of all beings...".
Oh my friend found. It is chapter 10 of most likely Bhagavad gita which says:
20. I am the Self, O Gudakesha, seated in the hearts of all beings! I am the beginning, the middle and also the end of all beings.
Now I finished the book Q&A with Ramana all the 3 parts... I noticed many times Ramanas tells the questioner in front of him "does the world comes to you and says that it exist? Where is the world in deep sleep? After waking you say the world is there" but somehow that's not true.. Women come and want attention... They say look I also exist.. Even if you have sound sleep they will not allow you to sleep. Your wife will wake you up. She will say He I am also here... Or if you stop paying your bills because the world does not exist.. Police will come and put you on jail
Yes..like in dream all is real for you...same way in waking everything is real. In dream world...your real world is not real...in real world your dream world is not real. Either both are real or none of them. Because this world's existence is "denied" in dream. You only say this when wake up. Ponder over this. Everything appears real. But are they really real "always"? What is real will never appear and then disappear. All these are messages of bhagvan. I acted just as a mediator.
If there is one I that is Real, then there is no one else to have a free will separate from that I. In the mistaken view of the separate self, there is the notion of free will. In that states of confusion the true free will is surrendering to the real I. Any thoughts? 🙏
I tend to believe that there is no free will, and everything that happens in the material world is a question of destiny. I like this perspective because it reduces my suffering. May we all emerge from the state of confusion haha! Thanks for your comment.
I believe you've described that quite well. According to Sri Ramana free will and destiny only exists in the phenomenal world. The actions of the body are entirely determined by prarabdha karma, even the slightest movement is pre-determined by "birth". If fully grasped it can create a sense of relief since all the attempts and efforts of the mind to improve or advance are unnecessary and part of the delusion.
There seems to be a free will in form that the mind can wish and think and believe anything it wants, that is not determined entirely, however our vasanas still indirectly determine (at least partly) what we like to think in form of our likes and dislikes.
The only true choice we have is either to attend to 'I am" with Self-Inquiry or to be involved with the phenomenal world and thoughts. At any moment we have the free will to make that choice. Anything else is maya, samsara, delusion as is the habit to not attend to 'I am'.
Thanks david
ஶ்ரீரமணாயநமஹ
THANK YOU THANK YOU
Thank you 🙏
Can somebody please summarise the teachings of Shri Ramana Maharishi?
Sadhguru.....Satguru.....Sadhguru
Thank you!!!
I see no free will even in noble thougbts since all thoughts are based on privious thoughts its all a matter of conditioning by a collective ego. I liken thoughts as a rushing river move through the path of least resistance. Eventually it will merge into the infinite ocean of consciousness.
Comcepts of right and wrong are relative and dualistic experiences that appear and disappear until we question who we think we are.
Proximity of the jnani's "body", body which He is not?
is this wisdom useful when in Ukrane or Gaza at this present time?