This is a collection of writings by Miles Wright about Self Enquiry (Atma Vichara) as taught by Ramana Maharshi. They are mostly responses to questions asked by members on various yahoo-groups (Ramana Maharshi, Atma Vichara, The Sage of Arunachala and Acalayoga) from 2000 to 2007. Before this groups have been deleted I managed to save the most important writings, or what I felt may be of interest for a later reading and study for my personal use. Amongst them many are on Atma Vichara and also deal with misconceptions, which still circulate. I feel these questions and answers may also be of great value for others, and with Miles’ permission this collection can now be offered to the public. Gabriele Ebert (editor)
The teachings presented in this book were given out between March and October, 1995, the last six months of Annamalai Swami's life. They represent the essence of his experience and his life long devotion to his Guru, Ramana Maharshi, and his teachings.
One of the start-up world’s most in-demand executive coaches—hailed as the “CEO Whisperer” (Gimlet Media)—reveals why radical self-inquiry is critical to professional success and healthy relationships in all realms of life. Jerry Colonna helps start-up CEOs make peace with their demons, the psychological habits and behavioral patterns that have helped them to succeed—molding them into highly accomplished individuals—yet have been detrimental to their relationships and ultimate well-being. Now, this venture capitalist turned executive coach shares his unusual yet highly effective blend of Buddhism, Jungian therapy, and entrepreneurial straight talk to help leaders overcome their own psychological traumas. Reboot is a journey of radical self-inquiry, helping you to reset your life by sorting through the emotional baggage that is holding you back professionally, and even more important, in your relationships. Jerry has taught CEOs and their top teams to realize their potential by using the raw material of their lives to find meaning, to build healthy interpersonal bonds, and to become more compassionate and bold leaders. In Reboot, he inspires everyone to hold themselves responsible for their choices and for the possibility of truly achieving their dreams. Work does not have to destroy us. Work can be the way in which we achieve our fullest self, Jerry firmly believes. What we need, sometimes, is a chance to reset our goals and to reconnect with our deepest selves and with each other. Reboot moves and empowers us to begin this journey.
Book & DVD. Nan Yar is a classic spiritual text from one of the greatest Indian teachers, Sri Ramana Maharshi, and one of the most important books of the 20th Century. Containing the essence of his teachings, it lights the way for a clear, practical understanding and realisation of spiritual awakening. A beautifully designed edition, the original text has been set to touching quotes and wonderful digital remastered photographs of Sri Ramana Maharshi. Trailer DVD included in the back for the films of Open Sky Press.
Everybody is aware, all seven billion of us. We are aware of thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions. All people share the experience of being aware, but relatively few people are aware that they are aware. Most people’s lives consist of a flow of thoughts, images, ideas, feelings, sensations, sights, sounds, and so on. Very few people ask, 'What is it that knows this flow of thoughts, feelings, and perceptions? With what am I aware of my experience?' The knowing of our being—or rather, awareness’s knowing of its own being in us—is our primary, fundamental and most intimate experience. It is in this experience that the peace, happiness and love for which all people long reside. The happiness we have sought so long outside of ourselves, in situations, objects and relationships, turns out to be always present and available in the simple knowing of our own being as it truly is. The knowing of our own being shines in each of us as the experience ‘I am’ or ‘I am aware’, or simply the knowledge ‘I’. This obvious, familiar and intimate experience has no objective qualities and is, therefore, overlooked or ignored by the majority of people. This overlooking of our own being is the ultimate cause of unhappiness. What is the nature of the experience of being aware or awareness itself? The exploration of this question is the subject matter of this book and the essence of the Direct Path to peace and happiness. * * * The Essence of Meditation Series presents meditations on the essential, non-dual understanding that lies at the heart of all the great religious and spiritual traditions, compiled from contemplations led by Rupert Spira at his meetings and retreats. This simple, contemplative approach, which encourages a clear seeing of one’s experience rather than any kind of effort or discipline, leads the reader to an experiential understanding of their own essential being and the peace and fulfillment that are inherent within it. Being Aware of Being Aware is the first and introductory volume in The Essence of Meditation Series.
Huatou is a skillful method for breaking through the prison of mental habits into the spacious mind of enlightenment. The huatou is a confounding question much like a Zen koan. Typical ones are "What is wu [nothingness]?" or "What was my original face before birth-and-death?" But a huatou is unlike a koan in that the aim is not to come up with an answer. The practice is simple: ask yourself your huatou relentlessly, in meditation as well as in every other activity. Don't give up on it; don't try to think your way to an answer. Resolve to live with the sensation of doubt that arises, and it will pervade your entire existence with a sense of profound wonder, ultimately leading to the shattering of the sense of an independent self. Master Sheng Yen brings the traditional practice to life in this practical guide based on talks he gave during a series of huatou retreats. He teaches the method in detail, giving advice for dealing with the typical pitfalls and problems that arise, and answering retreat participants' questions as they experience the practice themselves. He then offers commentary on four classic huatou texts, grounding his instructions in the teaching of the great Chan masters.
From the moment we emerge into the world as an infant we begin a journey of experience. We all share the desire to be happy. In this journey we will all experience emotional and physical pain and the loss of what we love. How we meet our losses and pains will determine the amount of peace we have in our lives. If we meet them as the hardened warrior or the defeated victim we live from survival and peace escapes us. In Medicine of One, Lomakayu, spiritual teacher, Soul Dreamer, and the originator of primordial movements for emotional healing, offers us a path to spiritual awareness, self-compassion and freedom that is as simple as a Circle. Using his own unique teachings, personal experience, and poetic language, he shares a path that will enliven, bring clarity, inspire, and fulfill you no matter where you are in life. Allow yourself to open the pages of Medicine of One ... breathe in the words ... and slowly grasp all you can from what is written. You will find yourself in a Circle full of deep understanding and self compassion.
THE SELF-INQUIRY PROCESS: Using Powerful Questions to Awaken Awareness is not a theoretical, information-oriented book; instead, it is experiential in nature. The reader will embark on a process of introspection to increase self-awareness, and bring unconscious material into consciousness. Many people claim to have the answers - this book asks the questions. It introduces a unique framework with which to understand yourself, and goes on to ask direct questions: some quite challenging, some provocative, others simple and to the point. The questions reveal the sources of suffering that can hinder our everyday experience. Other questions point the way to fulfillment and joy. Each question in the book can take you deeper into relationship with your own Self, and closer to the Self-love that makes so many things possible, including loving others and the world. ABOUT THE AUTHOR... Linda Brierty, LCSW, is an integral psychotherapist and Reiki Master. She was trained by Diane Shainberg, Ph.D., noted psychoanalyst and Zen priest. Linda is the director of The Bodhi Tree Holistic Center in Manhattan. She also has a deep love for music and is a classically trained musician.
The Ultimate Truth Is So Simple. The Simple Message Of Sri Ramana Maharishi, One Of India S Most Revered Spiritual Masters, Whose Teachings, Forty Years After His Death, Are Speaking To Growing Audiences Worldwide. Be As You Are, Edited By The Librarian At The Sage S Ashram-Still Flourishing-At The Foot Of The Holy Mountain Of Arunachala, Is A Compendium Of Those Riches As Bequeathed Personally To Pilgrims Hungry To Discover What Is The Ultimate Truth . Nothing More Than Being In The Pristine State. That Is All That Need Be Said, Declared Sri Ramana. Indeed It Is Claimed That His Highest Teachings, To Those Capable Of Receiving Them, Consisted Of Nothing But Silence During Which He Transmitted A Silent Flow Of Power Enabling Individuals To Experience, Directly, What He Meant By Enlightenment. This Book Is For Those Of Us Who Would Remain Perplexed, But Enriched By The Silence.
The present work in prose consists of forty questions with answers covering the entire range of spiritual disciplines required for the gaining of release (moksha). The questioner was Gambhiram Seshayya, one of the early devotees of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. He was a Municipal Overseer at Tiruvannamalai about 1900. Besides being an ardent Ramabhakta (worshipper of Rama) he was interested in the study and practice of Yoga. He used to read Swami Vivekananda's lectures on the different yoga's as also an English translation of the Rama-gita. For resolving the difficulties which he came across while studying these books and in his spiritual practices, he approached Bhagavan Sri Ramana from time to time. Bhagavan, who was only twenty-one years old, was then living in Virupaksha cave on Arunachala Hill. As he was keeping silent at the time not because of any vow taken but because he was not inclined to talk - he wrote out his answers to Seshayya's questions on bits of paper. These writings over the period 1900-1902 were later copied in a note-book by Seshayya. The material thus gathered was published by Sri Ramanasramam under the little Vichara-sangraham which literally means 'A Compendium of Self-Enquiry.' A digest of the teaching contained in this work was later printed in English bearing the title 'Self-Enquiry'. In that English version, the questions were omitted and the substance of Bhagavan's teaching was given, classifying it in twelve short chapters with appropriate headings. The present English translation is of the entire original text Vichara-sangraham as it is in Tamil. The Vicharasangraham has unique value in the sense that it constitutes the first set of instructions given by Bhagavan in his own handwriting.
