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The Practice of Self-InquiryRamana Maharshi's Direct Path for Self-Realization
Self-inquiry or 'atma-vichara' is a spiritual practice for self-realization. It means focusing one's attention on the subjective feeling of 'I' by inquiring "Who am I?"
While this or similar techniques have been mentioned in the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita, the South-Indian guru Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950) is generally regarded as the foremost teacher of atma-vichara or self-inquiry in modern times. This practice has strong appeal not only to religious and spiritually minded people, but also to non-religious intellectuals and agnostics. For one thing, it doesn’t require the use of religious symbols or belief in God, and it combines both logic and mystic. This may be why self-inquiry has become so popular among American and European spiritual seekers during the last decades, which is evident from the numerous books published on this subject. In fact, there is a strong spiritual movement in western countries consisting of a variety of groups that all refer to Ramana Maharshi and the path of self-inquiry. What Is Self-Inquiry?Although generally regarded as a form of meditation, self-inquiry differs from ordinary meditation techniques inasmuch as the latter usually require an object on which to meditate. In atma vichara, however, the ‘I’ – the subject – the one who is meditating, becomes the 'object' of its own inquiry. This might seem a little confusing, even impossible at first, like an eye trying to see itself. However, Ramana Maharshi constantly emphasized that self-inquiry is not about trying to perceive the Self in the way one perceives an object. The Self cannot be grasped by the mind because it is its very source. Self-enquiry simply means to rest in the awareness of ‘I’ or ‘I am’, which is present when no other thoughts are there. Who am I?Ramana distinguished between the pure 'I' in itself and the individual self. The former is pure, eternal existence. The latter, although it sleeps, wakes up, eats and thinks, dies and is reborn, is ultimately unreal. To Ramana, the individual self is only a thought.He defined this 'I-thought' as the source of all other thoughts. Concentration on the I-thought will ultimately lead one to its source, the Absolute Self. Sri Ramana often stunned ardent searchers of enlightenment by telling them that they were already self-realized. "Being That, what do you want to know? Are there two selves for the one to know the other?” Such utterances are characteristic for advaita-vedanta (non-duality) and therefore, Ramana Maharshi was seen as a chief exponent of this philosophy. Dive into the SelfDuring conversations, Ramana again and again directed the questioners back to their own self, advising them that only the practice of self-inquiry would give a satisfying answer to their questions. When he advised people to ask themselves "Who am I?", he didn’t mean mere verbal, intellectual inquiry. As he wrote in one of the '40 verses on reality': “Cease all talk of `I' and search with inward diving mind whence the thought of 'I' springs up.” References: Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi. By Sri Munagala Venkataramiah. The collected works of Sri Ramana Maharshi. By Sri Ramana Maharshi.
The copyright of the article The Practice of Self-Inquiry in Meditation is owned by Martin Bohn. Permission to republish The Practice of Self-Inquiry in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.
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