Revelation
Sri Ramana Hrdayam
1. Unto that transcendental Being, the unborn (Self) shining in the Heart, in every creature, as the limitless ‘I’, the Guru of all gurus, my real Self and Lord, who has lovingly assumed human form with intent to unfold His own true Nature to His devotees, namely Sri Ramana, I render obeisance.
2. Translating into Sanskrit the work which Ramana the Sage composed in Tamiḷ for His devotees' delight, one of His humble devotees, sustained by His grace, composed this work named Ramana Hridayam in easy style, for the peace of his own mind.
3. The Sun of Pure Consciousness, namely this work of the Great Sage, which aspirants to the state of Deliverance should study constantly, is most excellent, conferring Beatitude in the State of Pure Consciousness - the State transcending speech and mind, without mental taints, attaining which the Sage no more returns (to bondage) - and also giving present delight (to those that study it).
4. Can there be sense of existence without something that is? Is Real Consciousness a thing other than That? Since that (Reality) dwells, thought-free, in the Heart; how can It - Itself named the Heart - be meditated on? And who is there, distinct from It, to meditate on It, the Self whose nature is Reality Consciousness? Know that to meditate on It is just to be at one with It within the Heart.
5. Men of pure minds who intensely fear death surrender themselves unto the Lord of all, the blissful One, the indwelling Self, who has no death nor birth. By that (surrender) their ego, along with their attachments, becomes extinguished. How can they who (thus) have won abode in Immortality, have any thought of death?
6. Since we see the world, (it follows that) there does exist a source of it, a sole Reality transcending (world and mind), of whose power all this is a becoming; this is beyond dispute. This cinema-show of names and forms, their sustaining screen, the light (of Consciousness), and the spectator - all these four are only that Supreme Being, who is the Real Self within the Heart.
7. All the faiths that prevail in the world affirm, to begin with, (the existence of) the world, the soul and God. The two contentions, namely that One Reality is sensed as threefold, and that they are three distinct entities, are up held (as intellectual convictions) while the sense 'I am the body' persists. But the highest state is being firmly established in one's own real Nature (as the Real Self), by giving up that delusion.
8. Of what use is it to affirm “The world is real”, “It is an illusory appearance," "It is embued with consciousness," "It is inert," "It is happy," “It is surely miserable?" That state of egolessness, transcending the creeds of duality and unity, which is our own by nature, and which is to be won by turning away from the world and experiencing the Real Self, is dear to all alike.
9. If the Self have form, then the world and God also would have form. But since the Self is formless, by whom and how are forms to be seen? Can what is seen be of a different nature from the seeing eye? The (real) Eye is just the Real Self, and that Eye is infinite, unconditioned worldless, without a second.
10. Since everybody in the world comprises five sheaths, all the five sheaths together answer to the name of ‘body’. Such being the case, say, does the world really exist apart from the body? Say, is the world seen by anyone without a body?
11. The world has no form apart from the objects of sense, namely sounds and the rest; thus the whole universe is just sensations of the five sense-organs; through these five sense-organs the one mind knows the world. That being so, say, is the world other than the mind?
12. The two, the universe and the mind, arise and set as one; yet this inert universe is lighted up by the mind alone; know that that sole, unborn, infinite Being whose nature is Pure Consciousness, and in which the two (the universe and the mind) arise and set, but which Itself neither rises nor sets, is alone Real.
13. Even though to worship Him in any form and by any name is a means towards the right vision of Him, who (really) is without form and name, true vision of Him consists in being at one with Him by merging in Him the Transcendental Being, through the realization of the identity of the Real Self with His real essence.
14. The triads all arise depending on the ego-sense; so too arise the duads; if one enters the Heart by the Quest of 'Who is the I' and sees the truth of it (the Real Self), all of them vanish utterly; such a one is the Sage; He is not deluded (by them).
15. Knowledge is never and nowhere in the world separate from ignorance; neither is ignorance at any time and for anyone separate from knowledge : true knowledge is the Awareness of the original Self, which becomes manifest by the Quest 'Who is this I to whom belong both of these', nothing else.
16. How can the knowledge of objects arising in relative existence, to one that knows not the truth of (himself) the knower, be true knowledge? If one rightly knows (the truth of) him in whom both knowledge and its opposite subsist, then along with ignorance (relative) knowledge also will cease once for all.
17. Know that that alone is true knowledge, in which there is neither knowledge nor ignorance: the (so-called) knowledge of objects, understand, is not at all true knowledge. The Real Self shines always alone, with neither things for Him to know, nor persons to know Him; therefore He is only Consciousness; do not think that He is non-being.
18. This Self, (here) declared to be Consciousness, is alone real, without a second; all knowledge which is manifold is only ignorance : this ignorance - which (being a negation) is non-existent - has no existence apart from the Self who is Consciousness. Say, do the unreal jewels exist apart from the gold which (alone) exists?
19. The two, namely 'you' and 'he', appear when the sense of 'I' has risen in respect of a body; if by the Quest of the Self by oneself, by the question 'What is the truth behind this I', the ego be extinguished, therewith are also lost the other two notions; that which then shines alone, understand, is the Real Self.
20. Both past and future exist only in dependence on the present; each in its own time is only present; therefore all the three are present. That being so, research into the past and the future, without experience of the Reality in the present time won by the Quest, is (absurd) like counting without the number 'one'.
21. Do time and space exist apart from the ego? If we were bodies, then we would be subject to them. (But) say, are we bodies? Because the True Self is the same everywhere and at all times, therefore learn that He is the sole Reality, consuming both (time and space).
22. The body is the Self, both to him that does not know the Self and to him that knows. The one that knows not believes himself to be limited to the body and distinct from God the All. To the knower of the Real Self within, He shines as the infinite Being, not other than God. Great indeed is the difference between the knower of the Self and the non-knower!
23. The world is real both to the non-knower and to the knower of the Real. He that lacks knowledge of the Real believes the Real to be coextensive with the world. To the knower the Real shines as the formless One, the basic substance of the world. Great indeed is the difference between the knower of That and the non-knower.
24. Only those love to dispute which of the two, fate and freewill, will prevail, who have no experience of (the truth of) him, named 'I', who is the one root of both. Can that Sage that has become free of both, knowing the truth of the ego by the Quest, ever again become entangled in these, like one that knows not the Self?
25. When one sees a form of God, neglecting himself the seer, that vision is vision of a mental form; it is not a true vision of God. Does the Sage, that has direct vision of the Self, see that Supreme Being, who is (that) Real Self? Having lost the ego, he (the Sage) is not at all distinct from Him.
26. Two visions are mentioned in the sacred lore, namely vision of the Self and vision of God; I shall state what they really mean. How can there be vision of the Self? Since He cannot be seen, for the reason that He is one (with the would-be seer), who is to see God, (who is just the Real Self), and how? Know that the vision of the Self and the vision of God (alike) consist in the soul (that is, the ego) becoming the food of God.
27. This blissful and transcendental Being, who is Pure Consciousness, is ever shining within the mind as Himself the Real Self, imparting to the mind (whatever) light of consciousness (it has). Such being the case, how can a man know Him by the mind alone, failing to merge the mind in Him by turning it inwards?
28. The body, being devoid of consciousness, has no egoism of its own; no one ever says 'I did not exist in dreamless sleep'; all things come into being when this 'I' is risen; therefore search with concentrated mind for the source wherefrom this ego-sense arises.
29. The inert body cannot say 'I'; the real Consciousness has no beginning; between them comes to birth an ‘I’ limited to the body; this is the mind, the knot between Consciousness and the inert (body), conditioned existence, the ego, bondage and the subtle body; this is the true nature of the (so-called) soul.
30. This phantom without a form, the ego, comes into being taking hold of a form (a body); keeping hold of the form it continues to exist; keeping hold of the form and enjoying sense- objects it greatly waxes in strength; giving up a form (at death) it takes hold of a new one; when the (truth of) it is sought, it will surely run away.
31. When this thing known as ‘I’ is risen, then rises all this world; when the ‘I’ is not, neither does the world exist; therefore this ‘I’ is itself all the world : therefore (extinction of the ‘I’ by) the Quest of 'Who is this I?' or 'Whence is he?' is to get rid of the whole (world).
32. We are that one Reality only in that State in which there is no rising of the ego-sense. But how can the ego-sense be finally extinguished, if the mind does not enter the Source of the ego- sense? And if the ego-sense be not so extinguished, how can that State be won which is our own by nature and in which we are That?
33. As one dives into a lake seeking something fallen into it, so should one dive into the Heart with the one-pointed mind, restraining speech and the breath, giving up all thought about the world and seeking 'Whence does arise the ego-sense?' and thus should become aware of the Real Self, the Transcendental Being.
34. Diving into the Heart - restraining both speech and mind and seeking 'where shines the (original) I-Consciousness - is the direct means of winning the Awareness of the Self. The meditation ‘I am not this body, I am myself That’ is (useful only as) a preliminary to the Quest. Is it itself the Quest of the Self?
35. When the mind, introverted by being engaged in the Quest of 'Who am I?' is lost in the Heart, and the ego bows his head in shame, there shines by Its own light a Pure Consciousness as the limitless ‘I’; that (Consciousness) is not the spurious ego; It is the Transcendental, Infinite Reality: It is the blissful Real Self.
36. Does there remain anything needing to be done by Him that is happy in unity with That - the unity which becomes manifest by consuming the ego-sense, the State of Peace and Bliss beyond relativity? Since He knows nothing other than the Self, how can anyone (not so delivered) imagine what that mindless State is like?
37. Instead of winning one's own natural state - the state which is taught by Revelation by the words 'Thou art That' - by entering the Heart by the Quest of 'Who am I?' man goes on meditating 'I am That, I am not the body', because of mental weakness, That Reality is Itself ever shining as the Self!
38. The two statements, 'I do not know myself ' and 'I know myself', are equally ridiculous. Has anyone, anywhere, two selves, so that the self can become an object of knowledge to himself? Know from the common experience of all men alike that the real Self is only one.
39. The man blinded by the ego, who by seeking that Reality, which is ever shining in the hearts of all creatures as the real Self, has not become aware of It and thereby attained his own natural state of oneness with it, disputes saying "There is something real", "No," "That something has form," "No," “It is One," "It is twofold," "It is neither."
40. To be the Real Self in the Heart by winning the actual Experience of that Self, which is already won, is the real gain, all other gains are like those that are won in a dream. Does anything gained in a dream remain true on waking? Is the one that has cast off falsehood by dwelling in the Real ever again deluded by these?
41. So long as the notion 'I am the body' prevails, the meditation 'I am That' is helpful to the winning of Self-Awareness (by the Quest). (But) why should this meditation be kept up endlessly? Does any man meditate 'I am a man'? We are always that Reality!
42. Even the statement that duality is real so long as one is striving to reach the goal, but that in the goal there is non-duality, is not at all correct. What else but the tenth man was the man in the parable, both when he himself was anxiously seeking for the tenth man as one that was missing, and when he had found himself (to be that missing tenth man)?
43. If the Self were ever himself the doer (of actions), then He himself would reap their consequences. But when the sense of doership drops away on the realization of the infinite Self as a result of the Quest ‘Who am I that is a doer (of actions)?' with it (namely the sense of doership) will drop away all the three kinds of actions; (the wise) know this State to be eternal
44. If there be the thought ‘I am bound', then will arise also the thought of deliverance. When, by the Quest of 'Who am I that is bound?' the Ever-Free Real Self alone remains, ageless and deathless, to whom can the thought of bondage come? If that thought cannot arise, then how can the thought of deliverance arise to the Sage who has done with actions?
45. I shall (here) state clearly the truth among the three contentions, that Deliverance is with form, that It is without form, and that It is both ways; True Deliverance is just the utter extinction of him, named ‘I’, who thus investigates the truth among these contentions.
46. That is the Real, the secret Treasure in the Heart, in which alone this world exists, to which this entire world belongs, from which it comes into existence, for (the Realization of) which alone it is, by which the world appears, and which Itself is all the world; we meditate on that Transcendental Reality within the Heart.
47. By associating with a sage a man attains non-attachment; by non-attachment he is delivered from the delusion ('I am the body') that is in the mind; when he is free from delusion he becomes one with the moveless, transcendental Reality and becomes free while still alive; cultivate His Society.
48. That transcendental state of Bliss which may be won by men through the Quest of the Self, culminating in the diving (of the mind) into the Heart - which is prompted by association with a Sage, is not attainable by intellectual grasp of the sense of the sacred lore, by listening to the talks of lecturers, by different kinds of acts of merit, nor, by any other means.
49. To that fortunate one who habitually associates with sages with a devout mind of what use are all these observances for winning the highest goal? When the cool south wind blows giving relief from heat, say, what is the use of keeping a fan in the hand?
50. The moon can allay heat alone for men; likewise the celestial wishing tree can relieve want (alone); so too the (sacred river) Ganga can remove only sin; by the sight of Sages all the three - heat and the rest - are extinguished; (so) there is nothing in all the three worlds, comparable to them.
51. The holy bathing places - which are but water - are never equal to those great ones; nor are the Deity forms - made of stone or earth - which are worshipped; through these a man gets purity of mind - if he has devotion - after immeasurable time; by the sight of Sages he may become pure at once.
52. 'Who is God?' 'The One that knows the mind'. ‘(But) I myself, as the individual soul, am always knowing the mind!' 'Therefore thou art thyself God, (not an individual); besides Revelation itself says that God is the one Self in all creatures.'
53. 'What is the light for thee (for seeing objects)?' 'By day the sun, by night lamps and the like.' ‘What is the light for seeing these?' 'The eye.' 'What is the light for seeing that?' ‘The mind’ ‘By what light dost thou perceive the mind?' 'I myself perceive it.' 'Therefore thou art thyself the Light of all lights, infinite and transcending all.' 'True. I am That.'
54. Inside the cave of the Heart the Pure and Infinite Being Himself shines as the Self, the limitless ‘I’, Enter thou the Heart diving by the Quest of the Self or by holding the breath and thus be one with the Self.
55. That same pure, motionless Consciousness, which shines inside the Lotus of the Heart as ‘I’, will Itself grant Deliverance if man gives up the sense of ‘I am the body'.
56. The body, like anything made of earth, is insentient; it has no sense of 'I’; therefore I am not that; also because it is certain that the Self exists in dreamless sleep, in which there is no body. ‘Who is he that says I?' Or ‘Whence is he?' To those that, with pure mind (seeking the Self in this way), become established in the Self, the blissful, perfect Being, namely Arunachala, Himself shines as ‘I’.
57. That man of elevated mind who becomes born in his own cause, namely the Transcendental Being through the Quest 'Whence am I?' is alone really born; he is born once for all; that Lord of Sages is ever new.
58. Give up the sense of 'I' in this body - which is not the Self, being inert and full of imperfections and win Experience of the Real Self, the transcendental Reality, which is endless Bliss. The man that hopes to know the Self with mind intent on nourishing the body is just like a man trying to cross a river taking hold of an alligator, mistaking it for a log of wood.
59. The extinction of the sense of 'I am the body' is itself gift, sacrifice, tapas, righteousness, truthfulness, the grace of God, union with God, supreme devotion, renunciation, silence, the natural state, happiness, wealth, Deliverance, peace, the death which is not death and right knowledge.
60. 'To whom do these, namely action, separation from God, separation from the Reality and ignorance of the True Self, belong?' This inquiry is itself all the yogas - of action and the rest. Know that that state is the untainted real Existence the blissful Experience of the Self - in which there is neither the seeker named ‘I’, nor the four named above, (action and the rest).
61. He that seeks to win supernormal powers, not knowing that he himself is activated by the power of God, is like that cripple who said; 'What effort would it be for me to defeat these foes, if only you would raise me up and place me in the battlefield in front of them?'
62. Perfect stillness of the mind is declared by the Sages to be Deliverance. Powers are to be won by more than common efforts of the mind. How can the man, who is so unintelligent as to seek to win those powers, win the timeless happiness of Deliverance, which is the same as quiescence of mind?
63. While God Himself is bearing (all) the burden of the world, the imitation-soul that tries to bear this burden is just like the caryatid figure (sculptured at the base of a tower) appearing to sustain the tower (on its head). If one that travels by a car that can carry heavy loads bears his luggage on his own head, and suffers pain (in consequence), who is to blame for this?
64. Among the six organs of various colours situated above the belly, there is one, the Heart, resembling a lily bud, two finger-breadths from the centre of the chest.
65 Its mouth is closed; in the space within it there are the (chief) nerves; it is the abode of darkness: of the (acquired) mental habits, the vital force, the mind and the Light (namely Consciousness).
66. The Supreme Being dwelling inside the cave of the Heart is called the Lord of the Heart. If by meditating 'I myself am He' the conviction 'I am He' becomes as firmly established as (is now) the conviction 'I am the body', then ignorance will vanish just as darkness does before the sun.
67. "What is the truth of the Heart in all creatures reflected in which, as in a mirror, is seen all the universe, as if outside?" When thus Rama questioned (Him),
68. Bhagavan Vasiṣṭha replied as follows, "The Heart should be known as twofold, (one) to be rejected, and (another) to be accepted; the fleshy organ of the body, inert and subject to decay, should be understood as the one to be rejected;
69. "The Heart which is Pure Consciousness, in which the universe is reflected, and which is quite other (than the last mentioned), should be known as the one to be accepted. It is both outside and inside, and it is neither outside nor inside; It is the storehouse of all good things, for all creatures;
70. "When the mind attains fixity in this the real Heart by the Quest of the Self, there occurs the extinction of all mental taints, and the vital air ceases to move also."
71. Cast off all attachments (from the mind) by constantly meditating 'I am that taintless, blissful Consciousness which ever shines untrammelled by the body-sheaths,
72. Keeping mental hold of that state of Reality, which remains over after inquiry into the truth of all states of being, act in the world like one that is governed by desires (without being really subject to them); thou knowest the immortal Truth behind all (these) appearances; keeping hold of that outlook, be active in the world, like one swayed by desire, (but) with mind at peace.
73. Putting on a false appearance of joy, of excitement, of disapproval and of eagerness to achieve, perform the duties of the world; internally free from the hundreds of binding desires and evenly disposed to all creatures, engage in actions suiting the disguise (of manhood), just like an ignorant person.
74. He that by Self-Experience has entered on His natural State of Pure Consciousness, and is ever happy in Oneness with that (Reality), having shed all the taints of the mind, should be known as the unborn One, the wielder of the thunderbolt of Self-Awareness, the Fire of Pure Consciousness, the Hero that has killed death and the God of Death to time itself.
75. Just as in springtime there comes to trees an increase of beauty and other qualities, so to the Seer of the Truth, who is contented in the enjoyment of the Bliss of the Self, there comes surely an increase of Light, Power and Intelligence.
76. Just as a man, whose mind has wandered far while listening to a story, does not really hear, so the Sage who acts without mental taint does not become a doer (by doing actions); (on the other hand) if the mind be imbued with abundance of (worldly) taints, then that man is a doer of actions even when he is (outwardly) inactive; see, a dreamer falls from a hill-top into an abyss even while his body lies moveless (in bed)!
77. Just as, for one that has gone to sleep in a carriage, the three (states), namely the movements of the carriage, its standing still somewhere, and its being left with the horses unyoked, are all alike, so to the Sage that is in the sleep of Self-Awareness in the carriage, namely the body, the three states, namely the activity of the body, (its inactivity in) Samadhi and sleep are all alike.
78. The peaceful and timeless State of the Sage, called Waking-Sleep, which to those that live in (the vicious circle of) waking, dream, and dreamless sleep, is termed the Fourth State, is alone rea1; the other three are merely false appearances; therefore the Wise Ones call that State - which is Pure Consciousness - the State of transcendental Being.
79, To the dull-witted it is said "The actions of the future, and those that are gathered into the reserve, belonging to the Sage, become lost; but not so those that have begun to yield fruit"; (but) just as one wife out of many does not remain a sumangali at the death of the husband so all the three divisions of actions are lost when the doer - (the ego) - dies.
80. Men with little book-knowledge have only one family each, consisting of wife, sons, and others : but clever and learned men have in their hearts many families, namely books, which are hindrances to spiritual effort. How can there be Deliverance for them?
81. If one with a knowledge of literature does not seek to erase the writing of Fate by the Quest of "Whence is this 'I' that knows literature?" say, what has been gained by him by the knowledge of literature? Who else is there, Oh Lord Arunachala, so like a gramophone?
82. Those ills, that exist for that learned man who has not won peace of mind, do not exist for the illiterate one; the latter is not possessed by the demon, pride; he does not suffer the pain of vocal or mental effort; nor does he wander about in search of honour; know thou that he is saved from not one, but many ills.
83. Even for those that look on the whole world as worthless, and have all the secrets of the sacred lore in the palm of the hand, it is impossible to cast off servitude to the harlot, praise.
84. Who is there other than the Self? If someone says anything about oneself, (whether in praise or censure), what matters it? It is just as if it was said by oneself, in the case of the Sage who, being firmly established in His own natural State of Bliss which is unforfeitable, is unaware of the difference between himself and another?
85. Meditate always on the Truth that is without a second; but never (seek to) apply the teaching of non-duality to actions in the worldly life; my son, meditate on this Truth as covering all the universe; but never do so in respect of the Guru.
86. I shall now set forth unmistakably the profound secret which is the supreme essence of the conclusions of the Upanishads. Understand that when the Self is (realised as) the Reality by the death of the ego, there remains over only that Real Self who is Pure Consciousness.
87. The universe, diversified as the seer and his spectacle, has its rising, (interval of) manifestation and setting along with the mind; it appears in the states of dream and waking; in dreamless sleep it disappears; thus the whole universe is just the mind's thoughts (and nothing more); that constantly shining One, in which the mind has its existence, is the Real Self, untouched by unhappiness.
88. Not thus knowing his own Real Self, and thinking - through the power of the delusion 'I am the body' - that the world is real and that happiness can be had from sense objects, the ignorant one suffers unhappiness. If turning away from the world he dives into the Heart by the Quest of the Self, he shall attain Peace in the Real Self. So teaches Bhagavan Sri Ramana in this book.
Appendix IV
Sri Ramana Jayanti Message![1]
TO All the Children of the Holy Ramana, Namaskar!
To us, Ramana is himself the Message. Ramana has no Jayanti of His own, because He is the unborn, timeless, Real Self in us. So what we call Jayanti is our own Jayanti, our birth in him, our Real Self.[2] This birth is guaranteed to us, His sincere devotees, because He has looked on us with grace.
Ramana is the formless, timeless and spaceless Arunachala who dances as the ‘I’ in the Heart. He has graciously taken form that we may be relieved of the bondage of form. He is not a geographical entity but the unmoving Brahman of the Upanishads. Grace is his Essence, and out of Grace he has become our Guru. Grace is not merely in Tiruvannamalai but resides in our hearts. The Heart is the True Arunachala.