As author and long-time devotee David Godman explains,īeginners 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. Ramana gave upadesa, 'instruction or guidance given to a disciple by his Guru', pointing to the true Self of the devotees and showing them the truth of it.

This results in an 'effortless awareness of being', and by staying with it this 'I-I' gradually destroys the vasanas 'which cause the 'I'-thought to rise,' and finally the 'I'-thought never rises again, which is Self-realization or liberation.

Ramana taught that by paying close attention to the 'I'-thought, this 'I'-thought will disappear and only 'I-I' or Self-awareness remains. It is also described in the Yoga Vasistha, a syncretic work which may date from the 6th or 7th century CE, and shows influences from Yoga, Samkhya, Saiva Siddhanta and Mahayana Buddhism, especially Yogacara. Meditation on 'I-am-ness' is a subtle object of meditation in savikalpa samadhi. It is part of the eighth limb of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, which describes the various stages of samadhi. But I was overtaken by akrama mukti before I passed through any of the above-mentioned stages.' Hinduism Īccording to David Frawley, 'atma-vichara' is the most important practice in the Advaita Vedanta tradition, predating its popularisation by Ramana Maharshi. This is the normal and standard way of approaching liberation. They go to a guru and get initiated by him and then start the process of sravana, manana and nididhyasana, which finally culminates in samadhi. Next, when they are at an advanced age, they turn to books on Vedanta. Then they indulge in the pleasures of the world until they are fed up with them. ‘Some people,’ he said, 'start off by studying literature in their youth. Later in life, he called his death experience akrama mukti, ' sudden liberation', as opposed to the krama mukti, 'gradual liberation' as in the Vedanta path of jnana yoga: Īt first, Ramana thought that he was possessed by a spirit, 'which had taken up residence in his body'. Hence, I realised on that very day so clearly that that was 'I'. Even if this body is burnt, it will not be affected. In the vision of death, though all the senses were benumbed, the aham sphurana (Self-awareness) was clearly evident, and so I realised that it was that awareness that we call 'I', and not the body. Ramana summarised his insight into 'aham sphurana' (Self-awareness) to a visitor in 1945: Ramana's teachings on Self-enquiry originated in his own awakening at age 16, when he became firmly aware of death. Strictly speaking, 'self-enquiry' is not the investigation of the 'Self', 'Atman', but of the 'I', 'aham' (Sanskrit), 'nan' (Tamil). To attain salvation ( liberation), a human being must acquire self-knowledge (atma jnana), which is to realise that one's true self (Ātman) is identical with the transcendent self Brahman (or paramatman). In Hindu philosophy, especially in the Vedanta school of Hinduism, Ātman is the first principle, the true self of an individual beyond identification with phenomena, the essence of an individual. Although 'ánilaḥ' and 'ātman' have similar meaning, they are not etymologically related. It is derived from Latin 'anima' (breath, soul), which is cognate to Sanskrit 'ánilaḥ' (wind). The root *ēt-men (breath) is cognate with Old English 'æþm', Greek 'asthma', German 'Atem': 'atmen' (to breathe). Ātman ( IAST: ātman, Sanskrit: आत्मन्) is a Sanskrit word that is usually translated as ' self'. Vichara is also called jnana-vichara or ātma- vichār by his devotees. Vichāra is reflection and contemplation upon the meaning of Vedantic truths, and leads the individual to true knowledge, it leads to Brahman, the Universal Self. This Sanskrit word, Vichāra, does not have a corresponding word in English. It is the faculty of discrimination between right and wrong it is deliberation about cause and effect, and the final analysis it is also the enquiry into the nature of the Atman, Satya, Ishvara and Brahman. Vichāra ( Sanskrit: विचार) means deliberation its root is वि (prefix to verbs and nouns it expresses) – चर् (to move, roam, obtain knowledge of). 4 Transcription of Ramana's explanations.

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