Self-Enquiry (1900-1950) Bhagavan Ramana Answers

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There is a single thread running through the teachings of Bhagavan Ramana from 1900 to 1950. Be it his prose works, or poetic works, the underlying note or 'shruti' is that for the uprooting of the T sense in the body. For this, the one effective means is self-enquiry.

The earlier pocket book on 'Self-Enquiry' covered the period from 1900 to 1935. This pocket book covers the subsequent period on the same subject of 'Self-Enquiry', from 1936-1950.

In this period, seekers from all over the world, with varying backgrounds, had come to Ramana for his guidance. Because of this difference, the questions, and the answers by Ramana are more elaborate. However, Ramana's answers have a single focus that self-enquiry is the only direct and effective path for Self-experience. His answers have the joy and the freshness of an eternal spring.

In Bhagavan Ramana's teachings, the focus is exclusively on the knowledge about the subject, a unitary knowledge of a mind, which is silent, rid of the divisive knowledge about objects of a 'running mind'. He says, "Of what use it would be to know everything else except about the subject to whom all knowledge relates?"

For knowledge about the subject, the straight path is to enquire about the source of the mind, which ignorantly transposes the 'I' feeling of the Self onto the body. The mind, which rises and subsides each day, cannot be one's feeling of existence, which is continuous. According to Ramana, cutting this veil of ignorance is to enquire about the source from which the mind has arisen. The source of the mind is only the Self, which is termed by Ramana as the 'Heart'. It therefore partakes of the consciousness of the source from which it has arisen. The effort is to cut its link with time and space through a limitation of a particular name and form.

The other means for Self-knowledge, lead at best only to the lulling of the mind for the time being and not to an understanding of its nature and its true strength, the source from which it has arisen. In contrast, self-enquiry is an enquiry, which uses the mind itself to question and find out its reality. At present, due to dissipation of the mind's potential in the form of many thoughts to which it pays attention day-in and day-out, it does not have the requisite strength to enquire with any degree of firmness about its own nature. Therefore the first and essential step, which Ramana provides to make the mind unitary, is the enquiry, 'Who am T?', which prevents conceptualisation. For, the common answer to all questions can only be that it relates to me, the thinker. Gradually the mind's capacity to cling to the centre through this question increases. Such a mind, rid of its conceptualisation should be used for the enquiry as to its own source. Then automatically the magnetic force of the Self will absorb the thought of a separate consciousness in the mind, just as a river loses its separate identity when it joins the ocean. Perception would be unitary and the mind would always be energised. Thoughts will come to the extent required and there will be no continuity for a thought. They automatically end when its purpose is served. The mind would be free of thoughts, spacious and immersed in natural joy.

In Ramana's teachings, one finds that all other paths are accepted only to the extent of serving the purpose of unification of the mind and is clearly seen to be of no further use.

Ramana terms 'self-enquiry' as "the most sacred of sacred". The reason for this is not far to see. For, in it, is the way to discover the truth.

In the earlier compilation, the period was from 1900-1935. In this compilation, the subsequent period 1936-1950 is covered. In the first pocket book, the source material was from ten books. In this, another nine books are the source. Together, these books are a valuable treasure of the teachings of Ramana, which one can and must read over and over again.

In the earlier compilation, certain important questions and answers had not been covered. These are included in this book to make two pocket books complete.