Începătorii în introspecție erau sfătuiți de Sri Ramana să își pună atenția pe simțământul interior de "eu" și să mențină acest simțământ cât mai mult posibil. Li se zicea că dacă atenția este distrasă de alte gânduri ei ar trebui să se reîntoarcă la conștiința asupra gândului-"eu" ori de câte ori deveneau conștienți că atenția a hoinărit. El sugera diferite ajutoare care să asiste acest proces - unul era să te întrebi "Cine sunt eu?" sau "De unde a apărut acest eu?" - dar țelul ultim era să fii conștient continuu de "eu"-l care-și asumă că el e responsabil pentru toate activitățile corpului și ale minții.
În stadiile de început ale practicii atenția la simțământul de "eu" este o activitate mentală, care ia forma unui gând sau a unei percepții. Cu cât practica avansează, gândul "eu" lasă loc la un simțământ de "eu" trăit subiectiv, și când acest simțământ încetează a se mai conecta și identifica cu gândurile și obiectele, el dispare complet. Ce rămâne e o trăire experiențială a ființării în care simțământul individualității a încetat temporar să opereze.
Trăirea poate fi intermitentă la început dar prin practică repetată devine tot mai ușor să fie atinsă și menținută. Când introspecția atinge acest nivel e o conștiință (conștiență) fără de efort a ființării în care efortul individual nu mai este posibil din moment ce "eu"-l care face efort a încetat temporar să mai existe. Nu e realizarea Sinelui din moment ce gândul "eu" se reafirmă periodic dar este cel mai înalt nivel al practicii. Experiența repetată a acestei stări de ființare slăbește și distruge vasana-ele (tendințele mentale) care cauzează ca gândul "eu" să apară, și, când strânsoarea lor a fost suficient slăbită, puterea Sinelui distruge tendințele reziduale atât de complet că gândul "eu" nu mai apare niciodată. Aceasta e starea finală și ireversibilă de realizare de Sine. Această practică a atenției de sine sau conștiința asupra gândului-"eu" este o tehnică blândă, ce evită metodele represive obișnuite de a controla mintea. Nu este un exercițiu de concentrare, nici nu urmărește suprimarea gândurilor; mai degrabă invocă să fii conștient de sursa de unde apare mintea.
Metoda și țelul introspecției e să sălășluiești în sursa minții și să fii conștient de ceea ce ești prin retragerea atenției și a interesului de la ceea ce nu ești. În stadiile de început efortul ce e sub forma mutării atenției de la gânduri la gânditor este esențială, dar odată ce conștiința asupra simțământului-"eu" a fost stabilizată ferm, mai mult efort este contra-productiv. De aici încolo e mai mult un proces al ființării decât al făptuirii, al ființării fără de efort mai degrabă decât un efort de a fi.
Să fii ceea ce deja ești fără efort din moment ce ființarea este mereu prezentă și mereu experiențial trăită. Pe de altă parte, să pretinzi că ești ceea ce nu ești (de exemplu, corpul și mintea) cere un efort mental continuu, chiar dacă efortul este aproape întotdeauna la un nivel subconștient. Astfel se înțelege că, în stadiile înalte ale introspecției, efortul ia atenția de la experiența ființării, în timp ce încetarea efortului mental o revelează. În cele din urmă, Sinele nu este descoperit ca un rezultat al facerii a nimic, ci doar prin ființare.
Cum Sri Ramana însuși remarca odată:
"Nu medita - fii!
Nu gândi că ești - fii!
Nu te gândi la ființare - ești!"
Introspecția nu trebuie văzută ca o practică a meditației ce are loc la anumite ore și în anumite poziții; ea trebuie să continue în timpul orelor zilei, indiferent de ceea ce faci.
Sri Ramana nu vedea niciun conflict între muncă și introspecție, și susținea că, cu o mică practică, ea poate fi făcută în orice circumstanțe. Uneori spunea într-adevăr că perioade regulate de practică formală sunt bune pentru începători, dar el niciodată nu recomanda perioade lungi de meditație așezat și mereu și-a arătat dezaprobarea când vreunul dintre devoții săi își exprima dorința de a renunța la activitățile lumești în favoarea unei vieți meditative.
- David Godman, ‘Be As You are’ (din cartea "Fii Așa Cum Ești")
Traducerea Summairu
Citește și:
Ramana Maharshi - Cine Sunt Eu? (Nan Yar?)
Învățăturile lui Sri Ramana Maharshi
Robert Adams & Ramana Maharshi - Doar Fii
Yogananda îl întâlnește pe Sri Ramana Maharshi
Lal-Ded - Cuvântul unei mistice rebele din Kashmir
Beginners in self-enquiry were advised by Sri Ramana to put their
attention on the inner feeling of `I' and to hold that feeling as long
as possible. They would be told that if their attention was distracted
by other thoughts they should revert to awareness of the `I'-thought
whenever they became aware that their attention had wandered. He
suggested various aids to assist this process - one could ask oneself
`Who am I ?' or `Where does this I come from ?' - but the ultimate aim
was to be continuously aware of the `I' which assumes that it is
responsible for all the activities of the body and the mind.
In the early stages of practice attention to the feeling `I' is a mental activity, which takes the form of a thought or a perception. As the practice develops the thought `I' gives way to a subjectively experienced feeling of `I', and when this feeling ceases to connect and identify with thoughts and objects it completely vanishes. What remains is an experience of being in which the sense of individuality has temporarily ceased to operate.
The experience may be intermittent at first but with repeated practice it becomes easier and easier to reach and maintain. When self-enquiry reaches this level there is an effortless awareness of being in which individual effort is no longer possible since the `I' who makes the effort has temporarily ceased to exist. It is not Self-realization since the `I'- thought periodically reasserts itself but it is the highest level of practice. Repeated experience of this state of being weakens and destroys the vasanas (mental tendencies) which cause the `I'- thought to rise, and, when their hold has been sufficiently weakened, the power of the Self destroys the residual tendencies so completely that the `I'-thought never rises again. This is the final and irreversible state of Self-realization. This practice of self-attention or awareness of the `I'-thought is a gentle technique, which bypasses the usual repressive methods of controlling the mind. It is not an exercise in concentration, nor does it aim at suppressing thoughts; it merely invokes awareness of the source from which the mind springs.
The method and goal of self- enquiry is to abide in the source of the mind and to be aware of what one really is by withdrawing attention and interest from what one is not. In the early stages effort in the form of transferring attention from the thoughts to the thinker is essential, but once awareness of the `I'-feeling has been firmly established, further effort is counter-productive. From then on it is more a process of being than doing, of effortless being rather than an effort to be. Being what one already is effortless since beingness is always present and always experienced. On the other hand, pretending to be what one is not (i.e. the body and the mind) requires continuous mental effort, even though the effort is nearly always at a subconscious level. It therefore follows that in the higher stages of self-enquiry effort takes attention away from the experience of being while the cessation of mental effort reveals it. Ultimately, the Self is not discovered as a result of doing anything, but only by being.
As Sri Ramana himself once remarked:
`Do not meditate - be!
Do not think that you are - be!
Don't think about being - you are!`
Self-enquiry should not be regarded as a meditation practice that takes place at certain hours and in certain positions; it should continue throughout one's waking hours, irrespective of what one is doing. Sri Ramana saw no conflict between working and self-enquiry and he maintained that with a little practice it could be done under any circumstances. He did sometimes say that regular periods of formal practice were good for beginners, but he never advocated long periods of sitting meditation and he always showed his disapproval when any of his devotees expressed a desire to give up their mundane activities in favor of a meditative life.
- David Godman, ‘Be As You are’ (excerpt from the book)
In the early stages of practice attention to the feeling `I' is a mental activity, which takes the form of a thought or a perception. As the practice develops the thought `I' gives way to a subjectively experienced feeling of `I', and when this feeling ceases to connect and identify with thoughts and objects it completely vanishes. What remains is an experience of being in which the sense of individuality has temporarily ceased to operate.
The experience may be intermittent at first but with repeated practice it becomes easier and easier to reach and maintain. When self-enquiry reaches this level there is an effortless awareness of being in which individual effort is no longer possible since the `I' who makes the effort has temporarily ceased to exist. It is not Self-realization since the `I'- thought periodically reasserts itself but it is the highest level of practice. Repeated experience of this state of being weakens and destroys the vasanas (mental tendencies) which cause the `I'- thought to rise, and, when their hold has been sufficiently weakened, the power of the Self destroys the residual tendencies so completely that the `I'-thought never rises again. This is the final and irreversible state of Self-realization. This practice of self-attention or awareness of the `I'-thought is a gentle technique, which bypasses the usual repressive methods of controlling the mind. It is not an exercise in concentration, nor does it aim at suppressing thoughts; it merely invokes awareness of the source from which the mind springs.
The method and goal of self- enquiry is to abide in the source of the mind and to be aware of what one really is by withdrawing attention and interest from what one is not. In the early stages effort in the form of transferring attention from the thoughts to the thinker is essential, but once awareness of the `I'-feeling has been firmly established, further effort is counter-productive. From then on it is more a process of being than doing, of effortless being rather than an effort to be. Being what one already is effortless since beingness is always present and always experienced. On the other hand, pretending to be what one is not (i.e. the body and the mind) requires continuous mental effort, even though the effort is nearly always at a subconscious level. It therefore follows that in the higher stages of self-enquiry effort takes attention away from the experience of being while the cessation of mental effort reveals it. Ultimately, the Self is not discovered as a result of doing anything, but only by being.
As Sri Ramana himself once remarked:
`Do not meditate - be!
Do not think that you are - be!
Don't think about being - you are!`
Self-enquiry should not be regarded as a meditation practice that takes place at certain hours and in certain positions; it should continue throughout one's waking hours, irrespective of what one is doing. Sri Ramana saw no conflict between working and self-enquiry and he maintained that with a little practice it could be done under any circumstances. He did sometimes say that regular periods of formal practice were good for beginners, but he never advocated long periods of sitting meditation and he always showed his disapproval when any of his devotees expressed a desire to give up their mundane activities in favor of a meditative life.
- David Godman, ‘Be As You are’ (excerpt from the book)
