By Craig Williams – “There is in this city of Brahman an abode, the small lotus of the Heart, within it is a small space. Now what exists with that small space, that is to be sought after, that is what one should desire to understand.” Chandogya Upanishad “Atman, smaller than the small, greater than [...]
Note: The teachings of Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi (1878-1950), the great sage of Tiruvannamalai, South India, have become popular throughout the world as part of a new interest in Advaita or non-dualist Vedanta. However, there is a tendency to oversimplify his teachings as a kind of instant enlightenment for all that neglects the necessary prerequisites and [...]
Upadesham Saram of Ramana Maharshi New translation and commentary From Vedantic Meditation, By Vamadeva (David Frawley) Background Upadeshasaram means the essence of instruction. In this Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi explains the all main yogic practices culminating in jnana yoga, the yoga of knowledge its main method of Self-inquiry that he emphasized. He shows how aspirants grow [...]
By David Frawley (Pandit Vamadeva Shastry) Many different types of meditation are practiced throughout the world. The Vedantic tradition of India has counterparts for most of these, from meditation on deities to that on the various aspects of consciousness. Of these different meditation techniques Self-inquiry (Atma-vichara), a self-introspection approach, is generally considered to be the [...]
The Role of the Spiritual Heart and Self-Inquiry Ramana Maharshi’s teachings on non-duality emphasize the role of the spiritual heart or hridaya as the seat of the Atman and the place of Self-realization. He taught Self-inquiry primarily as a method of tracing our thoughts back to the spiritual heart, in which they can all be [...]
By David Frawley First published in the Mountain Path of the Sri Ramanashram The Allure of the Direct Path Advaita, which refers to the state of non-duality of the Self and God, can easily lend itself to all sorts of misconceptions. Indeed one can argue that since the Advaitic state transcends all thought and all [...]
Atman means the Self or soul, the very essence of our being as pure consciousness. It is common to all living creatures and pervades the entire universe. In the modern world, psychology dominates our thinking relative to the mind and emotions, the self and ego and has its influence on how we view spirituality and [...]
The greatest fear that all living beings have is the fear of death. The fear of death casts a shadow over all that we do and undermines all our peace and happiness. But what is death and who is it that dies? Actually death is the greatest of all illusions. The fear of death is [...]
In our ordinary lives our concerns are focused on the limited beings around us. The living beings include our family, friends and society. The non-living beings or objects include our homes, vehicles and property. We are able to recognize many different types of being in the world and interact with them in various ways. This [...]
From the book Vedantic Meditation by David Frawley (North Atlantic Books) From darkness lead us to light, from non-being lead us to being, from death lead us to immortality. Brihadaranyaka UpanishadI.3.28 I laud the flame of awareness that is placed before all things, the deity of the sacred ritual, who manifests by the seasons, the [...]
