Musings on Truth: The Essence of Yoga Vasista and The Science of Self Knowledge as taught by Bhagavan Sri Ramana

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This book is an abridged version of two treatises dealing with the Nature of Absolute Reality or Truth. Part 1 of the book is an abridgement of “The Yoga vashistha”, a Sanskrit treatise on Vedanta dating back to around 1000 BC. Part 2 of the book is an abridgement of the treatise “Happiness and the Art Of Being” by Sri Michael James.

The original “ Yoga Vasistha” is in the form of a lengthy discourse between the sage vashistha and prince Rama of Ayodha in India, hen the latter, in a state of dispassion and disillusionment with the world, was spiritually ready for instruction on the nature of Reality, the world and true wisdom. Happiness and the Art of Being” presents the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, the great sage of the 20th century on the same topics. His teachings – offered to all those who came to him for comfort and spiritual guidance – were based on his direct experience of Reality, un-influenced by any prior knowledge of any scriptures or any background in spiritual philosophy.

The “musings’ are in the nature of nuggets of wisdom. They have been selected so as to present the essence of the philosophical teachings of these sages. Each musing stands on its own, providing a focal point for each.

The teachings of both sages deal principally with expounding the nature of Reality; the nature of the effort that has to be made to fulfill life’s true purpose, which is gaining of direct experience of this reality; and also how life should be lived in the light of theoretical knowledge of Reality until one’ spiritual practice gains one the direct experience of Reality. Mere intellectual comprehension of the truth does not give one actual experience of the reality but merely the intellectual conviction to proceed with the quest for direct experience of the Truth.

The teachings of both sages do not conflict with the essential teachings of any of the world’s major religions since they concentrate solely on the essence of spirituality i.e. knowledge of the nature of Reality and the living of life in the light of knowledge.

I hope and pray to Bhagavan that the publication may prove not merely of interest but of great use to those who read it and that he may bestow his grace on all who through it in earnestness and faith.

This book is an abridged version of two treatises dealing with the nature of Absolute Reality or Truth. Part 1 of the book is an abridgement of “The Yoga Vasistha”, a Sanskrit treatise on Vedanta dating back to around 1000 BC. Part 2 of the book is an abridgement of the treatise “Happiness and the Art of Being” by Sri Michael James published just a few years ago.

The original “Yoga Vasistha” is in the form of a lengthy discourse between the sage Vasistha and prince Rama of Ayodhya in India, when the latter, in a state of dispassion and disillusionment with the world was spiritually ready for instruction on the nature of Reality, the world and true wisdom. Happiness and the Art of Being” presents the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, the great sage of the 20th century on the same topics. His teachings - offered to all those who came to him for comfort and spiritual guidance - were based on his direct experience of Reality, un-influenced by any prior knowledge ofany scriptures or any background in spiritual philosophy.

The virtually identical character of the teaching of these two sages, separated by almost 3000 years, on the nature of the Absolute Reality constitutes compelling evidence for the truth of their teaching since the Absolute Reality alone is, by definition, timeless and — unchanging. There can be no difference between true teachings expounding the nature of Reality.

The ‘musings” are in the nature of nuggets of wisdom. They have been selected so as to present the essence of the philosophical teaching of these sages. Each musing stands on its own, providing a focal point for reflection. Superficially there may be seem to be repetitions but on closer scrutiny they will be seen to be slightly differing insights which, taken together, provide a more complete picture of the specific topic that they deal with.

Though the teaching of the two sages is identical, there are differences in regard to presentation, since spiritual wisdom must be expressed in an idiom and in language appropriate to the time and place to make an impact. The “Yoga Vasishta” was set in an age and environment where sages were accorded the highest honour and reverence; and spiritual seekers were therefore prepared to accept spiritual truths and doctrines on the authority of sages, just as we today accept without question the findings of science. The teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi were however addressed to seekers in the modern world where a scientific outlook and rationalism reign supreme. The timeless wisdom of sage Vasistha is here reformulated in a contemporary context, to appeal to the modern rational and scientific mind and thereby serve as a basis for spiritual awakening.

An important difference associated with this. change in presentation to suit the scientific temper of the times is that in the teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi considerable stress is placed on approaches to verification of the supreme wisdom. Just as in science, scientific laws are held to be testable and verifiable, so too in the teachings of Ramana Maharshi, it is emphasised that the philosophy of Advaita Vedanta is scientific and testable, and great emphasis is placed on the methods for its verification. The teachings of both sages deal principally with expounding the nature of Reality; the nature of the effort that has to be made to fulfill life’s true purpose, which is the gaining of direct experience of this reality; and also how life should be lived in the light of theoretical knowledge of Reality until one’s spiritual practice gains one the direct experience of Reality. Mere intellectual comprehension of the truth does not give one actual experience of the reality but merely the intellectual conviction to proceed with the quest for direct experience of the Truth.

Acceptance of the new paradigm or model of reality taught by these two sages - which asserts that all that we perceive and know are mere constructs of limited consciousness - changes one’s mindset i.e. our beliefs, assumptions and values. With our present mindset - which gives the world meaning and value and assumes that peace and fulfilment come from what we have or do in the phenomenal world - we put our minds at the mercy of the external world. With the new mindset based on the true nature of reality, we realise that all we have to do to achieve lasting happiness and fulfilment is to stop all our actions such as wanting things to be different; worrying about the future; bringing up the past and so on - all of which obscure our true nature as peace and the infinite and eternal consciousness that we really are. Realization that Reality is an indivisible whole also provides the best possible basis for morality and economic reorganization, rather than those based on opinions churned out by our limited minds.

The teachings of both sages do not conflict with the essential teachings of any of the world’s major religions since they concentrate solely on the essence of spirituality i.e knowledge of the nature of Reality and the living of life in the light of this knowledge. The teachings are therefore essentially simple and uncomplicated. In most if not all religions however, these teachings have been complicated by various embellishment of theory and ritual. These have had the unfortunate effect of obscuring the essence of these religions which is naught else than the teachings of these two sage. The degree to which these technique are reflected in any religion therefore constitutes an index of the degree to which that religion reflects the core Truth that is the essence and unifying actor underlying all religions.

It is hoped that this book will motivate readers interested in greater i-depth exploration of Reality and its final realization to resort to the two books that have been presented here as abridged versions. The “Supreme Yoga” by Swami Venkatesananda of the Divine Life Society is recommended as the best available English version of the “Yoga Vasistha”.

After each musing in Part I, the passage in the “Yoga Vasistha” from which it has been extracted is shown in brackets. The first number denotes the Section and the second number the chapter which is the source of musing.