Introduction

This page is intended to form the principal link between this website and its extension, a blog named Happiness of Being — The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi, which is a growing archive of articles written by Michael James on the philosophy and practice of the spiritual teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana.

List of Articles — arranged under the following headings:

In the following list, links to all the main articles in this archive are arranged under different headings, but this arrangement is far from perfect, because many of these articles could well be classified under more than one heading. In particular, the practice of ātma-vicāra — self-investigation, self-scrutiny or ‘self-enquiry’ — is a theme that runs through most of them, but under the heading The practice of ātma-vicāra: self-investigation or self-enquiry I have included only those articles that focus strongly on this central topic.

In addition to being listed here, the articles are indexed clearly in the left margin of every page of the archive, firstly according to date in reverse chronological order under the heading Article Archive, and secondly in greater detail according to subject arranged alphabetically under the heading Index of Topics.

Some of the articles listed below are extracts from Happiness and the Art of Being (HAB), because they are portions that were not in the first PDF edition but were added either in the second PDF edition or in the third PDF edition, which is the same as the first edition of the printed book. I have therefore indicated all such articles by placing in brackets after each of them the initials HAB followed by a link to the chapter in which it appears.

The original writings of Sri Ramana

1. Śrī Aruṇācala Stuti Pañcakam — English translation by Sri Sadhu Om and Michael James (25th September 2007)
2. Śrī Aruṇācala Stuti Pañcakam — an overview (4th June 2009)
3. Śrī Ramaṇōpadēśa Nūṉmālai — English translation by Sri Sadhu Om and Michael James (15th May 2008)
4. Upadēśa Undiyār — an explanatory paraphrase (8th June 2009)
5. Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu — an explanatory paraphrase (14th June 2009)
6. Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu Anubandham — an explanatory paraphrase (21st June 2009)
7. Ēkātma Pañcakam — an explanatory paraphrase (22nd June 2009)
8. Ēkātma Vivēkam – the kaliveṇbā version of Ēkātma Pañcakam (28th May 2009)
9. Appaḷa Pāṭṭu – an explanatory paraphrase (23rd June 2009)
10. Āṉma-Viddai (Ātma-Vidyā) – an explanatory paraphrase (24th June 2009)
11. Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ – an explanatory paraphrase (26th June 2009)
12. Nāṉ Yār? — complete translation now added to Happiness of Being website (1st September 2007)
13. Sri Ramana’s maṅgalam verse to Vivēkacūḍāmaṇi (9th January 2010)

The practice of ātma-vicāra: self-investigation or self-enquiry

14. The crest-jewel of Sri Ramana’s teachings (20th August 2007: extract from HAB chapter 10)
15. The essential teachings of Sri Ramana (12th October 2014)
16. The crucial secret revealed by Sri Ramana: the only means to subdue our mind permanently (29th August 2014)
17. The fundamental law of experience or consciousness discovered by Sri Ramana (4th January 2015)
• Self-attentiveness is the simplest possible state
• Self-attentiveness in the midst of daily activities
• Love to experience ourself alone is essential
• Investigating ourself is investigating our source
• The fundamental law of experience
• The importance of grasping this fundamental principle
18. We cannot experience ourself as we actually are so long as we experience anything other than ‘I’ (19th October 2014)
19. Our aim should be to experience ourself alone, in complete isolation from everything else (28th December 2014)
20. Self-attentiveness and self-awareness (14th March 2015)
• What is the difference between attention and awareness?
• We are one, so we can experience ourself as we really are only when we experience ourself alone
• We should try to attend only to ourself and not to anything else
• Being self-attentive in the midst of other work
• Our ego is nourished and sustained by attending to thoughts
• Thoughts distract our attention away from ourself, so we should try to attend to ourself alone
21. Self-investigation (ātma-vicāra) is just the simple practice of trying to be attentively self-aware (19th October 2015)
22. Why is it necessary to be attentively self-aware, rather than just not aware of anything else? (12th October 2015)
• The oneness of self-attentiveness, self-abidance and self-surrender
• Merely giving up being aware of anything other than ourself will not destroy our ego
• We can dissolve our ego only by trying to be attentively self-aware
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 16: we must attentively observe our own self-awareness
23. Do we need to try to ignore all thoughts, and if so how? (18th April 2015)
• Trying to attend to ourself alone is the only effective way to ignore all thoughts
• We should try to be self-attentive just now, not for a prolonged duration
• We can be self-attentive only in this precise present moment
• Deliberately trying to ignore thoughts would be a self-defeating endeavour
• Thinking can be destroyed only by self-attentiveness
• The only way in which we can investigate ourself is by trying to be self-attentive
24. Spontaneously and wordlessly applying the clue: ‘to whom? to me; who am I?’ (5th February 2014)
25. What is self-attentiveness? (21st January 2009)
26. How to attend to ‘I’? (16th May 2014)
27. Cultivating uninterrupted self-attentiveness (27th June 2008)
28. Self-attentiveness, intensity and continuity (31st December 2008)
29. Intensity, frequency and duration of self-attentiveness (6th March 2015)
30. Self-attentiveness and time (31st December 2008)
31. ‘I’ is the centre and source of time and space (17th January 2014)
32. By discovering what ‘I’ actually is, we will swallow time (25th January 2014)
33. Just being (summā irukkai) is not an activity but a state of perfect stillness (24th February 2015)
34. Self-attentiveness is not an action, because we ourself are not two but only one (9th February 2015)
35. There is only one ‘I’, and investigation will reveal that it is not a finite ego but the infinite self (26th October 2014)
36. The terms ‘I’ or ‘we’ refer only to ourself, whether we experience ourself as we actually are or as the ego that we now seem to be (4th February 2015)
• The ego is essentially just what we actually are
• Attention is cit-śakti, the supreme power that creates, sustains and destroys the entire universe
• Persistently trying to be self-attentive is the only way to succeed
37. Attending to our ego is attending to its source, ourself (5 June 2015)
38. By attending to our ego we are attending to ourself (31 July 2015)
• Our ego is distinct from our real self only to a limited extent
• The terms ‘the self’ and ‘the Self’ are an indirect and confusing way to refer to ourself
• Upadēśa Undiyār verses 24 and 25: the essential oneness of our ego and our real self
• We cannot look at our ego without actually looking at ourself
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 37: even when we experience ourself as this ego, we are actually what we always really are
• Why did Bhagavan sometimes say that all we need investigate is only our ego?
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 33: we are not two selves, for one to be an object known by the other
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 21: our infinite self is always the true import of the word ‘I’
• David Godman’s reply citing Muruganar’s explanation of verse 44 of Akṣaramaṇamālai
• Śrī Aruṇācala Akṣaramaṇamālai verse 44: reconsidering the meaning of Muruganar’s explanation
• Muruganar’s explanatory paraphrase (poṙippurai) of verse 44
• The initial sentences of Muruganar’s commentary (virutti-v-urai)
• Muruganar’s explanation of ‘oneself’ (taṉai), the viṣaya for investigation
• Muruganar’s clarification about the viṣaya for investigation
• The inaccuracy in Robert’s translation of this clarification
• Muruganar’s explanation of ‘daily see by the inner eye’ (diṉam aha-k-kaṇ kāṉ)
• Muruganar’s explanation of ‘facing within’ or ‘facing I’ (ahamukham)
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 32: when we are told ‘that is you’ we should investigate ‘what am I?’
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 19: we should investigate the source of our ego, which is what we actually are
• Guru Vācaka Kōvai verse 579: ourself whom we are investigating and ourself whom we seek to know are not different
• Guru Vācaka Kōvai verse 1094: what we should attend to is our svarūpa or own real self
• Pādamālai: some verses that do not specify whether we should attend to our ego or our real self
• Pādamālai: some verses that indicate that we should attend to ourself as we really are
• What then was the actual view of Muruganar?
• Conclusion: however it may be described, there is only one correct practice of self-investigation
39. The ego is essentially a formless and hence featureless phantom (28th May 2015)
• The ego is formless and hence featureless
• The ego is a phantom and hence insubstantial
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 25: how does this ‘formless phantom-ego’ seem to exist?
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 24: the ego is cit-jaḍa-granthi
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 23: why is this body not what I actually am?
• Nāṉ Yār? paragraph 4: this body and world are a projection of the ego or mind
• Nāṉ Yār? paragraph 5: without the ego nothing else exists
• The ego and other things are mutually but asymmetrically dependent
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 26: investigating the ego is giving up everything
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verses 22 and 27: except by self-investigation, how can we experience what we really are?
• The ego does not actually exist
• The ego is a confused mixture of self-awareness and awareness of other things
• Can self-awareness be considered to be a feature of the ego?
• A feature is anything that stands out in our awareness
• If our real self and our ego are both featureless, how can they be different?
40. The term nirviśēṣa or ‘featureless’ denotes an absolute experience but can be comprehended conceptually only in a relative sense (25 June 2015)
• In what sense is the peacefulness of sleep not a feature?
• Sat, cit and ānanda are not features
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 23: what exists is what is aware
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 28: sat-cit-ānanda is eternal, infinite and indivisible
• Our ego is distinct from brahman only in appearance, not in substance
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 24: our ego and God are only one substance
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 25: knowing ourself without adjuncts is knowing God
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 25: if investigated, this phantom ego will vanish
• Featurelessness is a vital clue in self-investigation
• The blossoming of pure self-awareness will consume our ego and everything else
41. What is cidābhāsa, the reflection of self-awareness? (11th August 2015)
• Cidābhāsa is our mind or ego, and its reflecting medium is our body
• ‘How does this reflection (our ego) arise?’ is the wrong question to ask
• Pure self-awareness is the source of this reflected light, our ego
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verses 26 and 7: everything else exists and shines by this reflected light
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 22: this reflected light must turn back within and merge in its source
• The metaphor of light
• By self-investigation the reflected ray will contract back into its source
42. Only ‘I am’ is certain and self-evident (24th January 2014)
43. Establishing that I am and analysing what I am (15 August 2014)
44. Self-awareness is the very nature of ‘I’ (1st August 2014)
45. How to experience the clarity of self-awareness that appears between sleep and waking? (30th November 2014)
46. Is consciousness a product of the mind? (19th June 2014)
47. The connection between consciousness and body (18th January 2015)
48. Self-investigation and body-consciousness (20th February 2015)
49. What should we believe? (25th July 2014)
50. Why should we believe that ‘the Self’ is as we believe it to be? (9th November 2014)
51. Science and self-investigation (23rd December 2014)
52. Investigating ‘I’ is the most radical scientific research (20th January 2014)
53. Investigating ourself is the only way to solve all the problems we see in this world (2nd March 2015)
54. There is no difference between investigating ‘who am I’ and investigating ‘whence am I’ (9th May 2014)
55. The mind’s role in investigating ‘I’ (25th May 2014)
56. Since we always experience ‘I’, we do not need to find ‘I’, but only need to experience it as it actually is (31st May 2014)
57. We ourself are what we are looking for (23rd September 2015)
58. We must experience what is, not what merely seems to be (8th August 2014)
59. Trying to distinguish ourself from our ego is what is called self-investigation (ātma-vicāra) (15th August 2015)
• Self-investigation is a single seamless process with no distinct stages
• What seems to be this ego is only our true self
• Distinguishing ourself from the ego we seem to be
60. Dṛg-dṛśya-vivēka: distinguishing the seer from the seen (20th May 2015)
• Bhagavan’s view about ‘effortless and choiceless awareness’
• The ego is not ‘a bundle of circumstances’ but what experiences all circumstances
• Whatever is experienced depends for its seeming existence upon the ego that experiences it
• Distinguishing the ego from the rest of the mind
• Distinguishing the experiencer (dṛś) from the experienced (dṛśya)
• The essence of the mind is the ego, and the essence of the ego is pure self-awareness
• To see what is real we must give up seeing what is seen (dṛśya)
• What we really are is not the witness (sākṣin) or seer (dṛś) of anything
• To experience what we really are, we must cease witnessing or being aware of anything else
61. What is meant by the term sākṣi or ‘witness’? (21st April 2015)
• In a literal sense, the only sākṣin is our ego
• Can sākṣi-bhāva be an effective spiritual practice?
62. Witnessing or being aware of anything other than ourself nourishes our ego and thereby reinforces our attachments (28th April 2015)
• Other things seem to exist only when we experience ourself as this ego
• Nisargadatta and ‘the witness attitude’
• Sākṣi-bhāva can mean either a state of being or a state of mind
• Sākṣi-bhāva can also mean meditation on the sākṣi, namely ourself
• There are no distinguishable stages on the path of self-investigation
• At no stage on this path should we try to be a witness of anything other than ourself
• Self-attentiveness alone is the key to real detachment
• Vipassanā is similar to the practice of sākṣi-bhāva as it is generally understood
• When we experience what we actually are, there will be nothing else for us to observe or witness
63. ‘Observation without the observer’ and ‘choiceless awareness’: Why the teachings of J. Krishnamurti are diametrically opposed to those of Sri Ramana (11th May 2015)
• Our ego is the observer, and without it there can be no observation
• We cannot choose to be ‘choicelessly aware’
• Our awareness of other things is not our primary illusion but only a secondary one
• What Krishnamurti teaches is diametrically opposed what Bhagavan teaches us
64. Trying to see the seer (30th April 2015)
• No words can adequately describe the practice of being self-attentive
• What I actually am must be something that I always experience
• Thoughts occur only to ourself as an ego, not ourself as we really are
• Can we see ourself, the seer?
• ‘Attending to myself’ means trying to be attentively self-aware
• Our curiosity to see what we really are is what is called grace
• Trying to see what sees
65. Being attentively self-aware does not entail any subject-object relationship (3rd May 2015)
• We are the subject, and can never be an object
• We are aware of ourself even though we are featureless
• Being self-aware is not an adjunct but what I essentially am
• Because we are self-aware we can choose to be attentively self-aware
• Is it possible to be attentively self-aware?
66. Does the practice of ātma-vicāra work? (3rd March 2014)
67. Why is ātma-vicāra necessary? (18 April 2014)
68. Ātma-vicāra is the only means by which we can experience ourself as we really are (20 March 2014: Interview on Celibacy – Part 2)
69. Ātma-vicāra and nirvikalpa samādhi (11th April 2014: Interview on Celibacy – Part 5)
70. Ātma-vicāra: stress and other related issues (2nd May 2014)
71. Self-investigation, effort and sleep (5th June 2014)
72. Self-attentiveness, effort and grace (23rd November 2008)
73. The featurelessness of self-attentiveness (22nd August 2014)
74. Any experience we can describe is something other than the experience of pure self-attentiveness (3rd April 2015)
75. Other than ourself, there are no signs or milestones on the path of self-discovery (23rd November 2014)
76. Can self-enquiry be practised during work? (13th February 2014)
77. Self-attentiveness and citta-vṛtti nirōdha (16 February 2014)
78. Prāṇāyāma is just an aid to restrain the mind but will not bring about its annihilation (18 June 2015)
• Nāṉ Yār? paragraph 8: the connection between mind and breath
• Upadēśa Undiyār verses 11 and 12: how breath-restraint is a means to restrain the mind
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 13: the two kinds of subsidence of mind
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 14: our mind will die only by self-investigation
• Upadēśa Sāram verse 14: the meaning of ēka-cintanā
• Can our ego or mind be annihilated by any means other than self-investigation?
• Can our ego or mind be annihilated by meditating on a form or name?
• Nāṉ Yār? paragraph 9
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 25
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 4
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 20
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 8
• Is it wrong to say that self-investigation is the only means by which the mind can be annihilated?
• Prāṇāyāma is neither sufficient nor necessary
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 28: subsidence of the breath is an effect of self-investigation
79. ‘That alone is tapas’: the first teachings that Sri Ramana gave to Kavyakantha Ganapati Sastri (22nd August 2015)
• The two replies that Bhagavan gave to Kavyakantha
• The implication of Bhagavan’s first reply
• The practice of self-investigation entails nothing but attentively observing ourself
• The implication of Bhagavan’s second reply
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 30: experiencing what remains when the ego dissolves is tapas
• Guru Vācaka Kōvai verse 706: a paraphrase of Bhagavan’s second reply
• Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ verse 14: Bhagavan’s condensation of verse 706 of Guru Vācaka Kōvai
80. What is meditation on the heart? (29th August 2015)
• Can we make sense of Bhagavan’s final answer recorded in section 131 of Talks?
• Cohen’s interpretation of this final answer recorded in section 131 of Talks
• What did Bhagavan mean by the term ‘heart’?
• Why did Bhagavan specify the right side of the chest as the location of the heart?
• Distinguishing hṛdaya from hṛdaya-sthāna
• Meditating on hṛdaya-sthāna is not meditation on hṛdaya
• Being attentively self-aware alone is meditation on hṛdaya
81. What is the difference between meditation and self-investigation? (14th April 2015)
• Meditation on ourself is self-investigation (ātma-vicāra)
• We should not meditate on anything other than ourself
• Meditation on the idea ‘I am brahman’ is not ātma-vicāra
• Meditation on ‘I am’ alone is ātma-vicāra
• Our ego is just ourself (‘I am’) seemingly mixed and confused with adjuncts
• We seem to be this ego only when we are experiencing anything other than ourself
82. We should meditate only on ‘I’, not on ideas such as ‘I am brahman’ (24th February 2014)
83. Experiencing the pure ‘I’ here and now (25th January 2011)
84. Why do we not immediately experience ourself as we really are? (25th January 2014)
85. The aim of self-enquiry is to experience a perfect clarity of self-consciousness (21st January 2007)
86. By self-attentiveness we can experience our true self-consciousness unadulterated by our mind (2nd March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 3)
87. Manōnāśa — destruction of mind (7th October 2011)
88. Self-attentiveness is nirvikalpa — devoid of all differences or variation (27th July 2009)
89. Svarūpa-dhyāna and svarūpa-darśana (8th July 2009)
90. ‘Tracing the ego back to its source’ (12th July 2009)
91. Knowing our source by a ‘sharp intellect’ or kūrnda mati (16th March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 10)
92. How to start practising ātma-vicāra? (16th April 2009)
93. Making effort to pay attention to our mind is being attentive only to our essential self (6th December 2008)
94. Our basic thought ‘I’ is the portal through which we can know our real ‘I’ (30th December 2008)
95. Focusing only on ‘I’ (4th January 2014)
96. Second and third person objects (10th January 2011)
• Second and third person are thoughts that depend upon the first person, the thinking thought ‘I’
• The world is nothing but a series of thoughts
• The broad meaning of ‘thought’ as it is used by Sri Ramana
• Second person thoughts and third person thoughts
• The ‘subjective’-‘objective’ distinction
• The unreality of the ‘second person’-‘third person’ distinction
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 14
• The fundamental principle of Sri Ramana’s teachings
• Pramāda: the first person seems to exist only because we do not attend to it
• The practical application of the rope-snake analogy
• Sri Ramana’s teachings are a subtle refinement of advaita vēdanta
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 26
• Parallels between verses 14 and 26 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu
• Interpreting the terms ‘second person’ and ‘third person’ individually
• Interpretation in Happiness and the Art of Being
• An alternative interpretation in Part Two of The Path of Sri Ramana
• Interpretations must be appropriate to the context and the audience
97. The need for manana and vivēka: reflection, critical thinking, discrimination and judgement (13th December 2014)
• Manana in relation to śravaṇa and nididhyāsana
• Vivēka in relation to manana
• Critical thinking
• Perseverance is the only true sign of progress
• The danger of not using vivēka and not thinking critically
• The teachings of Sri Ramana and Nisargadatta are significantly different
• Uncritical belief in authority is an enemy of vivēka
• Confusion exists even in the minds of sincere devotees
• We should be wary of unsound inferences
• Conclusion
98. What is unique about the teachings of Sri Ramana? (7th May 2015)
99. In order to understand the essence of Sri Ramana’s teachings, we need to carefully study his original writings (30th May 2015)
• The original writings of Sri Ramana express the essence of his teachings
• Guru Vācaka Kōvai is also an authentic and reliable record of his teachings
• The essence of his teachings are based entirely upon his own experience of pure non-dual self-awareness
• If his essential teachings are true, there are actually no ‘external factors’ that are reliable
100. The logic underlying the practice of self-investigation (ātma-vicāra) (31st October 2015)
• Should we rely on what others claim to be their experience?
• What is the goal that we should aim to experience or attain?
• By knowing what goal we should seek, we can logically infer what must be the means to achieve it
• No matter how long it may take us to reach our destination, patient perseverance is required
101. Self-enquiry: the underlying philosophy can be clearly understood only by putting it into practice (17th June 2008)
102. The true nature of consciousness can be known only by self-enquiry (20th June 2008)
• True understanding and conviction can be gained only by practising self-enquiry
• ‘I am’ is the only indubitable reality
• Consciousness is one indivisible whole, other than which nothing exists
• The empirical science of self-enquiry taught by Sri Ramana
• Doubt the doubter
• The true meaning of the word ‘I’ or ‘we’
• Waking, dream and sleep are all experienced by us, the one and only ‘I’
• Our mind usurps our self-consciousness ‘I am’
• Sleep is a state that exists only in our consciousness
• We should refine our self-consciousness by practising self-enquiry
• What is the ‘bigger picture’?
• The correct practice of self-enquiry
103. Self-enquiry, personal experiences and daily routine (12th June 2008)
104. Ātma-vicāra is only the practice of keeping our mind fixed firmly in self (15th August 2007: extract from HAB chapter 9)
105. Ātma-vicāra and the question ‘who am I?’ (16th August 2007: extract from HAB chapter 9)
106. Sri Ramana’s figurative use of simple words (17th August 2007: extract from HAB chapter 9)
107. The question ‘who am I?’ as a verbalised thought (18th August 2007: extract from HAB chapter 9)
108. The practice of self-investigation is our natural state of self-conscious being (19th August 2007: extract from HAB chapter 9)
109. ‘Just sitting’ (shikantaza) and ‘choiceless awareness’ (11th July 2009)
110. Ātma-vicāra and metta bhāvana (‘loving-kindness’ meditation) (4th July 2009)
111. Repeating ‘who am I?’ is not self-enquiry (25th January 2007)
112. Japa of ‘I am’ as an aid to self-attentiveness (29th October 2009)
113. Staying with ‘I am’ (1st July 2009)
114. Thinking, free will and self-attentiveness (16th August 2009)
115. ‘Holy indifference’ and the love to be self-attentive (21st October 2009)
116. Ātma-vicāra and the ‘practice’ of nēti nēti (20th November 2008)
117. ‘Awareness watching awareness’ (7th January 2007)
118. Self-enquiry, self-attention and self-awareness (27th December 2008)
119. Ātma-vicāra — the practice of ‘looking at’ or ‘seeking’ ourself (14th April 2009)
120. ‘Putting it all together’ (30th December 2006)
121. Reading, reflection and practice (9th January 2007)
122. Exposing the unreality of our ego (13th January 2007)
123. Self-enquiry and body-awareness (23rd January 2007)
124. Self-investigation and sexual restraint (15th March 2014: Interview on Celibacy – Part 1)

Ahaṁ-sphuraṇa: the clear shining of ‘I’

125. Demystifying the term ‘sphuraṇa’ (1st July 2014)
126. Self-awareness: ‘I’-thought, ‘I’-feeling and ahaṁ-sphuraṇa (8th July 2014)
• ‘I’-thought, ‘I’-feeling and ahaṁ-sphuraṇa
• நான் நான் (nāṉ nāṉ) means ‘I am I’, not ‘I-I’
• The exact meaning of sphuraṇa is determined by the context in which it is used
• When we try to attend only to ‘I’, it shines more clearly
• Aham-sphurana is an experience that cannot be described adequately in words
• தன்னுணர்வு (taṉ-ṉ-uṇarvu) means self-awareness rather than ‘I’-feeling
• The Path of Sri Ramana explains the practice of ātma-vicāra more clearly than any other English book
• Viśēsa-jñāna and aham-spurippu
• Ātmākāram is nothing other than ātman itself
• A paradox: sphuraṇa means ‘shining’ or ‘clarity’, yet misinterpretations of it have created so much confusion
127. A paradox: sphuraṇa means ‘shining’ or ‘clarity’, yet misinterpretations of it have created so much confusion (12th July 2014)

Our three states of consciousness: waking, dream and sleep

128. What do we actually experience in sleep? (12th June 2014)
129. Our memory of ‘I’ in sleep (2nd November 2014)
130. Why do we not experience the existence of any body or world in sleep? (15th June 2014)
131. The consciousness that we experience in sleep (18th March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 2)
132. The ‘unconsciousness’ that we seem to experience in sleep (19th March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 6)
133. Our imaginary sleep of self-forgetfulness or self-ignorance (6th February 2007: extract from HAB chapter 2)
134. Our waking life is just another dream (14th February 2007: extract from HAB chapter 2)
135. Is there any real difference between waking and dream? (25th March 2015)
• Any differences between waking and dream are qualitative rather than substantive
• The relative duration of waking and dream
• Memory creates the illusion of long or short duration
• Any argument that waking and dream are fundamentally different is begging the question
• While dreaming we seem to be awake
• The power of the illusion that whatever we are currently experiencing is real
• Investigating ourself is the only way to ascertain whether our present state is real or just another dream
136. All phenomena are just a dream, and the only way to wake up is to investigate who is dreaming (31st March 2015)
• We alone actually exist, so we are the only real tattva
• The only way to wake up permanently is to investigate who is dreaming
• In a dream there is only one dreamer or experiencer
• We are the centre and source of time and space
• Why do we not immediately experience ourself as we really are?
• Why is the practice of self-attentiveness is called vicāra or ‘investigation’?
• Physical space appears only in our mental space, and our mental space appears only in the space of our self-awareness
• Our awareness of ourself in sleep
• What happens to ourself when our body dies?
137. Only the absolute clarity of true self-knowledge will put an end to all our dreams (17th February 2007: extract from HAB chapter 2)
138. Our self-consciousness is the absolute reality (18th February 2007: extract from HAB chapter 2)

The state of true self-knowledge

139. Self-knowledge is not a void (śūnya) (22nd September 2015)
• The void, blank and nothingness are just ideas
• The meaning of śūnya and śūnyatā
• We are not śūnya in the sense of non-existent or nothing
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 23: what exists (uḷḷadu) is what is aware (uṇarvu)
• Emptiness requires the existence of something that is empty
• Suñña Lōka Suttaṁ: the world is ‘empty of oneself or of anything belonging to oneself’
• What did Buddha mean by anattā?
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 28: the real nature of ourself
• We are fullness, not a void, because nothing other than ourself actually exists
• Ēkāṉma Pañcakam verse 5: what exists always by its own light is only ourself
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 27: we are devoid of knowledge and ignorance
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 10: knowing the non-existence of the ego is true knowledge
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 11: knowing anything other than oneself is ignorance
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 12: we are not a void, though devoid of knowledge and ignorance
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 31: when our ego is destroyed, we will not know anything other than ourself
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 18: when we know ourself, we will experience the world only as its formless substratum
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 4: we can experience the world as forms only if we experience ourself as a form
• Why is true knowledge devoid not only of knowledge but also of ignorance of anything other than ourself
• Since true knowledge is devoid of knowledge and ignorance, why does Bhagavan say it is not a void?
• We alone are what is full, whole or pūrṇa
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 7: the eternal and immutable ground and source of the ego and world is the infinite whole
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 20: what remains as ‘I am I’ after the ego dissolves is infinite fullness
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 30: ‘I am I’ means we are only ourself, and since nothing else exists we are the infinite whole
• Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ verse 12: being aware of multiplicity is ignorance
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 13: since we alone are real, being aware of anything else is ignorance
• Why do we fear to let go of everything?
• Why does sleep seem to our waking mind to have been a blank?
140. Self-consciousness alone is true knowledge (10th January 2007)
141. The transcendent state of true self-knowledge is the only real state (10th March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 6)
142. What is enlightenment, liberation or nirvāṇa? (19th July 2014)
143. Who has attained ‘self-realisation’? (30th December 2006)
144. Is there any such thing as a ‘self-realised’ person? (20th November 2014)
• Incorporating verse 28 of Upadēśa Undiyār, verses 13, 26, 31 and 33 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, verses 31 and 38 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu Anubandham, and all the eleven verses of Yār Jñāni? (‘Who is a Jñāni?’: verses 280-90 from Sādhanai Sāram by Sri Sadhu Om)

What is our real ‘I’?




145. The true import of ‘I am’ (9th January 2007)
146. The true import of the word ‘I’ (7th March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 5)
147. I think because I am, but I am even when I do not think (8th March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 6)
148. Our real ‘I’ is formless and therefore unlimited (28th February 2007: extract from HAB chapter 2)
149. Our body, mind and other adjuncts are not ‘I’ (26th February 2007: extract from HAB chapter 2)
150. The unique clarity and simplicity of Sri Ramana’s teachings (26th December 2013)

The science of consciousness

151. Scientific research on consciousness (25th April 2014)
152. The true science of consciousness and dṛg-dṛśya-vivēka (12th March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 8)
153. Consciousness and time (31st December 2006)

The appearance of duality

154. Metaphysical solipsism, idealism and creation theories in the teachings of Sri Ramana (26th September 2014)
155. The perceiver and the perceived are both unreal (28th September 2014)
156. We can believe vivarta vāda directly but not ajāta vāda (5th October 2014)
157. How we can confidently dismiss the conclusions of materialist metaphysics (6th April 2015)
• Self-investigation is the only means by which we can eradicate all doubt
• Science cannot resolve any metaphysical doubts
• We cannot be the body that we now seem to be
• Belief in the reality of the waking state is not adequately justified
• Does our present body exist when we are dreaming or asleep?
• What actually exists is only ourself
• Materialist theories of consciousness cannot explain it satisfactorily
• Materialism cannot account for the experiencer
158. Everything is only our own consciousness (1st March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 3)
159. Everything is just an expansion of our own mind or ego (5th March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 5)
160. Objective knowledge will disappear along with our mind when we know ourself as we really are (4th March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 5)
161. The foundation of all our thoughts is our primal imagination that we are a body (27th February 2007: extract from HAB chapter 3)
162. The cognition of duality (13th January 2007)
163. The truth that underlies cognition (15th January 2007)
164. Are we in this world, or is this world in us? (14th February 2007: extract from HAB chapter 2)
165. Does the world exist independent of our experience of it? (19th December 2014)
166. Why is it necessary to consider the world unreal? (15th February 2015)
167. The world is a creation of our imagination (23rd May 2008)
168. Why to write about self? (17th April 2009)

Non-duality or advaita

169. Non-duality is the truth even when duality appears to exist (4th March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 5)
170. Is there really any difference between the advaita taught by Sri Ramana and that taught by Sri Adi Sankara? (27th December 2006)
171. What is advaita? (28th December 2006)
172. Advaita sādhana — non-dualistic spiritual practice (27th November 2008)
173. No differences exist in the non-dual view of Sri Ramana (28th March 2014: Interview on Celibacy – Part 3)

Action or karma cannot give liberation

174. The karma theory as taught by Sri Ramana (5th September 2014)
• Incorporating verse 1 of Upadēśa Undiyār and Bhagavan’s December 1898 note to his mother
175. Why did Sri Ramana teach a karma theory? (12th September 2014)
176. How is karma destroyed only by self-investigation? (31st May 2015)
177. Actions or karmas are like seeds (27th July 2007: extract from HAB chapter 4)
178. How to avoid doing āgāmya and experiencing prārabdha? (19th September 2014)
179. How to avoid creating fresh karma (āgāmya)? (21st January 2011)
180. Can sexual energy really be liberated? (12th January 2007)

Death and immortality

181. Overcoming our spiritual complacency (14th March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 9)
182. The fear of death is inherent in our love for our own being (18th March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 9)
183. Taking refuge at the ‘feet’ of God (15th March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 9)
184. The state of true immortality (16th March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 9)
185. Experiencing our natural state of true immortality (22 June 2008)

God, guru, devotion and sat-saṅga

186. Can we experience what we actually are by following the path of devotion (bhakti mārga)? (18 July 2015)
• The diversity within bhakti mārga, the path of devotion
• The distinction between kāmya bhakti and niṣkāmya bhakti
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 2: no action or karma can give liberation
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 3: niṣkāmya karma done with love for God will show the way to liberation
• Why is purification of mind necessary?
• Śrī Aruṇācala Pañcaratnam verse 3: only by a pure mind can we know what we really are
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 18: our ego is the root of all our mental impurities
• We can free ourself from our ego only by self-investigation
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 25: by attending to anything other than ourself we are sustaining our ego
• Nāṉ Yār? paragraph 13: by attending to ourself we are surrendering ourself to God
• Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ verse 15: self-investigation is supreme devotion to God
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu Anubandham verse 14: self-investigation is karma, bhakti, yōga and jñāna
• The relative efficacy of niṣkāmya karmas done by body, speech and mind
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 4: dhyāna is more effective than japa, which is more effective than pūjā
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 5: anything can be worshipped as God
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 6: the relative efficacy of different modes of japa
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 7: uninterrupted meditation is superior to interrupted meditation
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 8: meditating on nothing other than ourself is ‘the best among all’
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 9: by meditating on ourself we will subside in our real state of being
• Upadēśa Undiyār verse 10: subsiding and being in our source is karma, bhakti, yōga and jñāna
• Analysis of the various types of bhakti
• Sadhu Om’s analysis of bhakti
• Anya bhakti and ananya bhakti can be mutually supportive practices
• What is prayer?
• Nāṉ Yār? paragraph 12: we must without fail follow the path taught by our guru
• Is self-surrender an alternative to self-investigation?
• Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 26: we cannot surrender our ego so long as we are aware of anything other than ourself
• Partial surrender will gradually lead to complete surrender
• Nāṉ Yār? paragraph 13: the significance of the last three sentences
• Conclusion
187. The truth of Arunachala and of ‘seeing the light’ (deepa-darśana) (11th December 2008)
188. God as both nirguṇa brahman and saguṇa brahman (29th May 2008)
189. Experiencing God as he really is (5th June 2008)
190. God as pūrṇa — the one infinite whole (7th July 2008)
191. God as pāramārthika satya — the absolute reality (17th July 2008)
192. Dhyāna-p-Paṭṭu: The Song on Meditation (30th December 2013)
193. Repetition of Bhagavan’s name (11th June 2007)
194. ‘I am’ is the most appropriate name of God (6th March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 5)
195. Contemplating ‘I’, which is the original name of God (2nd March 2007: extract from HAB chapter 4)
196. Our real self can reveal itself only through silence (29th July 2007: extract from HAB chapter 5)
197. Where to find and how to reach the real presence of our guru? (15th June 2008)
198. We should seek guru only within ourself (12th August 2010)
199. Is a ‘human guru’ really necessary? (6th January 2007)
200. Which spiritual teachings are truly credible? (7th January 2007)
201. Where can we find the clarity of true self-knowledge? (12th January 2007)
202. Let us not be distracted from following the real teachings of Sri Ramana (14th January 2007)
203. Which sat-saṅga will free us from our ego? (9th June 2008)
204. ‘Giving satsaṅga’ (13th January 2007)

Compassion and ahiṁsā

205. The supreme compassion of Sri Ramana (21st August 2007: extract from HAB chapter 10)
206. The importance of compassion and ahiṁsā (22nd August 2007: extract from HAB chapter 10)
207. Why are compassion and ahiṁsā necessary in a dream? (11th January 2015)
• A dream seems to be real so long as we are experiencing it
• How to respond to suffering seen in a dream?
• Waking up from a dream is the only solution to all the suffering we see in it
• Self-investigation is the only means by which we can wake up from this dream
• Until we wake up from this dream we must avoid causing harm to others
• We should not be too preoccupied with injustices or other worldly matters
• So long as our mind is turned outwards we should care about the well-being of others
• To keep our ego in check we must be vigilantly self-attentive
• Who is responsible for the creation of this world?
• Only in absolute silence can we experience what we actually are
208. Ahiṁsā and sexual morality (4th April 2014: Interview on Celibacy – Part 4)

Books about Sri Ramana’s teachings

209. Guru Vācaka Kōvai — e-book (5th September 2007)
210. Guru Vācaka Kōvai — a new translation by TV Venkatasubramanian, Robert Butler and David Godman (12th November 2008)
211. Guru Vācaka Kōvai verse 579 and Anubhūti Veṇbā verse 610 (19th November 2008)
212. Sādhanai Sāram — The Essence of Spiritual Practice (sādhana) (27th June 2009)
213. The Path of Sri Ramana – Part One e-book copy now available (23rd November 2007)
214. New enlarged e-book edition of Happiness and the Art of Being [regarding the second PDF edition] (21st March 2007)
215. Third e-book edition of Happiness and the Art of Being (23rd August 2007)
216. Happiness and the Art of Being — additions to chapter 2 (27th July 2007: extracts from HAB chapter 2)
217. The Nature of Reality — additions to chapter 4 of Happiness and the Art of Being (3rd March 2007: extracts from HAB chapter 4)
218. Happiness and the Art of Being — additions to chapter 5 (28th July 2007: extracts from HAB chapter 5)
219. What is True Knowledge? — additions to chapter 5 of Happiness and the Art of Being (7th March 2007: extracts from HAB chapter 5)
220. Happiness and the Art of Being — additions to chapter 7 (30th July 2007: extracts from HAB chapter 7)
221. Introduction to The Truth of Otherness (22nd May 2008)

Carlo Barbera has translated many of these articles into Italian and posted them on his blog, La Caverna del Cuore, and the following is a list all the ones he has translated so far, arranged in reverse chronological order (with the date after each being the date of the original article in English):

1. L’auto-investigazione (ātma-vicāra) è solo la semplice pratica di cercare di essere attentivamente auto-consapevoli (19 Ottobre 2015)
2. Perché è necessario essere attentivamente auto-consapevoli, piuttosto che solo non consapevoli di qualsiasi altra cosa (12 Ottobre 2015)
3. Noi stessi siamo ciò che stiamo cercando (23 Settembre 2015)
4. L’auto-conoscenza non è un vuoto (śūnya) (22 Settembre 2015)
5. Cos’è la meditazione sul cuore? (29 Agosto 2015)
6. ‘Quello solo è tapas’: i primi insegnamenti che Sri Ramana diede a Kavyakantha Ganapati Sastri (22 Agosto 2015)
7. Cercare di distinguere noi stessi dal nostro ego è ciò che è chiamata auto-investigazione (ātma-vicāra) (15 Agosto 2015)
8. Cos’è cidābhāsa, il riflesso dell’auto-consapevolezza? (11 Agosto 2015)
9. Dando attenzione al nostro ego stiamo dando attenzione a noi stessi (31 Luglio 2015)
10. Possiamo sperimentare ciò che siamo realmente seguendo il sentiero della devozione (bhakti mārga)? (18 Luglio 2015)
11. Il termine nirviśēṣa o ‘senza caratteristiche’ indica un’esperienza assoluta ma può essere compreso concettualmente solo in un senso relativo (25 Giugno 2015)
12. Il prāṇāyāma è solo un aiuto per trattenere la mente ma non determinerà il suo annientamento (18 Giugno 2015)
13. Dare attenzione al nostro ego è dare attenzione alla sua sorgente, noi stessi (5 Giugno 2015)
14. Come il karma è distrutto solo dall’auto-investigazione? (31 Maggio 2015)
15. Per comprendere l’essenza degli insegnamenti di Sri Ramana, abbiamo bisogno di studiare attentamente i suoi scritti originali (30 Maggio 2015)
16. L’ego è essenzialmente un fantasma senza forma e perciò senza caratteristiche (28 Maggio 2015)
17. Dṛg-dṛśya-vivēka : distinguere colui che vede da ciò che è visto (20 Maggio 2015)
18. ‘Osservazione senza l’osservatore’ e ‘consapevolezza senza scelta’: Perché gli insegnamenti di J. Krishnamurti sono diametralmente opposti a quelli di Sri Ramana (11 Maggio 2015)
19. L’unicità degli insegnamenti di Sri Ramana (7 Maggio 2015)
20. Essere attentivamente auto-consapevoli non comporta alcuna relazione soggetto-oggetto (3 Maggio 2015)
21. Cercare di vedere colui che vede (30 Aprile 2015)
22. Testimoniare o essere consapevoli di qualsiasi cosa diversa da noi stessi nutre il nostro ego e perciò rinforza i nostri attaccamenti (28 Aprile 2015)
23. Cosa s’intende con il termine sākṣi o ‘testimone’? (21 Aprile 2015)
24. Abbiamo bisogno di ignorare tutti i pensieri? E se è così, come possiamo farlo? (18 Aprile 2015)
25. Qual’è la differenza tra meditazione e auto-investigazione? (14 Aprile 2015)
26. Come possiamo respingere con fiducia le conclusioni della metafisica materialistica (6 Aprile 2015)
27. Ogni esperienza che possiamo descrivere è qualcosa diversa dall’esperienza di pura auto-attentività (3 Aprile 2015)
28. Tutti i fenomeni sono solo un sogno, e il solo modo di svegliarsi è investigare chi sta sognando (31 Marzo 2015)
29. C’è qualche differenza reale tra la veglia e il sogno? (25 Marzo 2015)
30. Auto-attentività e auto-consapevolezza (14 Marzo 2015)
31. Intensità, frequenza e durata dell’auto-attentività (6 Marzo 2015)
32. Investigare noi stessi è il solo modo per risolvere tutti i problemi che vediamo in questo mondo (2 Marzo 2015)
33. Essere soltanto (summā irukkai) non è un’attività ma uno stato di perfetta immobilità (24 Febraio 2015)
34. Auto-investigazione e consapevolezza del corpo (20 Febraio 2015)
35. Perché è necessario considerare il mondo irreale? (15 Febbraio 2015)
36. L’auto-attentività non è un’azione, perché noi non siamo due ma solo uno (9 Febbraio 2015)
37. I termini ‘io’ o ‘noi’ si riferiscono solo a noi stessi, sia che ci sperimentiamo come siamo realmente sia come l’ego che ora sembriamo essere (4 Febbraio 2015)
38. La connessione tra consapevolezza e corpo (18 Gennaio 2015)
39. Perché compassione e ahiṁsā sono necessarie in un sogno? (11 Gennaio 2015)
40. La legge fondamentale dell’esperienza o consapevolezza scoperta da Sri Ramana (4 Gennaio 2015)
41. Il nostro fine dovrebbe essere sperimentare solamente noi stessi, in completo isolamento da qualsiasi altra cosa (28 Dicembre 2014)
42. Scienza e auto-investigazione (23 Dicembre 2014)
43. Il mondo esiste indipendentemente dalla nostra esperienza di esso? (19 Dicembre 2014)
44. La necessità di manana e vivēka: riflessione, pensiero critico, discriminazione e giudizio (13 Dicembre 20014)
45. La perseveranza è il solo vero segno di progresso (30 Novembre – 1 Dicembre 2014)
46. Come sperimentare la chiarezza di auto-consapevolezza che appare tra il sonno e la veglia? (30 Novembre 2014)
47. Arunachala-pradakshina [a translation of this comment] (25 Novembre 2014)
48. Tranne noi stessi, non ci sono segni o pietre miliari sul sentiero della scoperta di sé (23 Novembre 2014)
49. C’è qualcosa come una persona ‘auto-realizzata’? (20 Novembre 2014)
50. Perché dovremmo credere che ‘il Sé’ è come lo crediamo essere? (9 Novembre 2014)
51. La nostra memoria di ‘io’ nel sonno (2 Novembre 2014)
52. C’è solo un ‘io’ e l’investigazione rivelerà che non è un ego limitato ma il sé infinito (26 Ottobre 2015)
53. Non possiamo sperimentare noi stessi come siamo realmente finché sperimentiamo qualsiasi cosa diversa da ‘io’ (19 Ottobre 2014)
54. Gli insegnamenti essenziali di Sri Ramana (12 Ottobre 2014)
55. Possiamo credere direttamente in vivarta vāda ma non in ajāta vāda (5 Ottobre 2014)
56. Il percettore e il percepito sono entrambi irreali (28 Settembre 2014)
57. Come evitare di compiere āgāmya e di sperimentare prārabdha? (19 Settembre 2014)
58. Perché Sri Ramana ha insegnato una teoria del karma (12 Settembre 2014)
59. La teoria del karma come insegnata da Sri Ramana (5 settembre 2014)
60. Il segreto cruciale rivelato da Sri Ramana: il solo strumento per assoggettare la nostra mente in modo permanente (29 Agosto 2014)
61. Auto-attenzione senza caratteristiche (22 Agosto 2014)
62. Stabilire che io sono e analizzare cosa io sono (15 Agosto 2014)
63. L’auto-consapevolezza è l’esatta natura di ‘io’ (1 Agosto 2014)
64. Il ruolo della mente nell’investigare ‘io’ (25 Maggio 2014)
65. Come dare attenzione a ‘io’? (16 Maggio 2014)
66. Perché ātma-vicāra è necessaria ? (18 Aprile 2014)
67. ‘Io’ è il centro e la sorgente del tempo e dello spazio (17 Gennaio 2014)
68. Manōnāśa – distruzione della mente (7 Ottobre 2011)
69. Sperimentare il puro ‘io’ qui e ora (25 Gennaio 2011)
70. Coltivare ininterrotta auto-attenzione (27 Giugno 2008)
71. L’importanza di compassione e ahimsa (22 Agosto 2007)
72. La suprema compassione di Sri Ramana (21 Agosto 2007)
73. Il gioiello supremo degli insegnamenti di Sri Ramana (20 Agosto 2007)
74. Ripetizione del nome di Bhagavan (11 Giugno 2007)
75. Morte e Immortalità – Lo stato di vera immortalità (16 Marzo 2007)
76. Morte e Immortalità – Prendere rifugio ai ‘piedi’ di Dio (15 Marzo 2007)
77. Morte e Immortalità – Superare la nostra compiacenza spirituale (14 Marzo 2007)
78. Cos’è l’advaita? (28 Dicembre 2006)