2023-10-01 San Diego Ramana Satsang: Self-enquiry is just keeping our mind fixed firmly on ourself

In a Zoom meeting with the San Diego Ramana Satsang ([e-mail]) on 1st October 2023, Michael answers various questions about Bhagavan’s teachings.
Devotee #1: When doing self-enquiry, when asking in whom is this thought occurring, the answer is, in me. And when asking, who am I, you understand this is not a question to be answered but to be explored or investigated. But if I were to answer, would it be correct to say that I am the observer of the illusory mind/body Susan? To explain, I, Susan am walking down the street, I follow Ramana’s teachings and so I say to myself, I, the I, as in I am is observing Susan walking down the street, and I am now observing Susan stopping to by a cup of coffee.
Devotee #2: No matter how much I try, I am unable to pursue the path of athma vichara with dedication. Firstly, it is very hard to practice self inquiry. Secondly, on those very few occasions when I actually sit and try and focus, I don’t know what to expect when I close my eyes and observe my thoughts because I am not sure how “self” even feels. Is the thoughtless state the actual self, because I am unable to go beyond that? How do I not fall into the trap of frustration and keep persevering?
A clearer audio copy of this video can be listened to on Sri Ramana Teachings podcast (ramanahou.podb... ) or downloaded from ramanahou.podb... and a more compressed audio copy in Opus format (which can be listened to in the VLC media player and some other apps) can be downloaded from mediafire.com/...

[@SriRamanaTeachings]

A clearer audio copy of this video can be listened to on Sri Ramana Teachings podcast (ramanahou.podbean.com ) or downloaded from ramanahou.podbean.com/e/self-enquiry-is-just-keeping-our-mind-fixed-firmly-on-ourself and a more compressed audio copy in Opus format (which can be listened to in the VLC media player and some other apps) can be downloaded from mediafire.com/file/aq6x86sx3lknk9v

[@AjieshDNair]

How you confirmed the original Naan yaar hand written prose was genuinly of Bhagavan's?. See the original other hand written copies of Bhagavan's works,English and other languages,they were written in a lucid form. But unfortunately the Naan yaar prose copy available had full of spelling mistakes,more than hundread times ,spelling mistakes and strikes,corrections on it. It seems from its own characteristics, no any well known tamil person write such a bad language. In case of Bhagavan's capabilities, he could have abled to write various languages,prose and poet ,very fluently. From the style of the prose written, probably some one had dictated it,and later corrected by some another one. The hand written pattern have Malayalam letter too(first paragraph 8th line "என்னும்"),which is another Indian language related to tamil,Bhagavan's mother tongue. Do you think Bhagavan was worst in using his own mother tongue too? This occurrence of Malayalam letter confirms some one from Malayalam as mother tongue had wrote that Naan yaar prose,who was not familier on writing in tamil.so why the spelling mistakes occurred there through out.

[@SriRamanaTeachings]

@@AjieshDNair Namaskaram. Yes, I heard from Natananandar, Kunju Swami and other old devotees who were present at the time that it was written by Bhagavan, and we can clearly see from the first paragraph, which he wrote for the essay version, and from other improvements that he made from the previous 30-Q&A version, that it was written by him. The copy you are referring to must have been copied by someone else, but there is a manuscript of this essay handwritten by Bhagavan, which was reproduced in The Mountain Path, June 1993, pp. 43-47, and this can be accessed online at www.gururamana.org/Resources/mountain-path Namo Ramanaya 🙏🙏🙏

[@AjieshDNair]

@@SriRamanaTeachings I am talking about the same essay version in 1993 aradhana issue . There are lot spelling mistakes in writing,and later some one could have edited it too. How can one could believe a tamil scholar wrote that spelling mistakes? It is impossible ji. It was written some one from Malayalam mother tongue. That's why there existed lot mistakes. The writter seems suffered lot,so why lot mistakes there happened. Its probabiliry points some others wrote it.Arunachala Ramana...

[@SriRamanaTeachings]

@@AjieshDNair Namaskaram. What spelling mistakes are you referring to? Please point out some examples. I have never checked all of it very carefully, but what I have checked is the same as what has been printed in every edition of ஸ்ரீ ரமண நூற்றிரட்டு (Bhagavan’s Tamil Collected Works) since 1931. Namo Ramanaya 🙏🙏🙏

[@AjieshDNair]

@@SriRamanaTeachings Namaskaram, The entire text have spelling mistakes in tamil language. There are more than 100 spelling mistakes, strikings and corrections.almost each and every line had writing mistakes ,if you check the pattern of writing you can find it. It is not a normal tamil known person's hand writing. It seems some other person who don't know how to write tamil structure. That much spelling mistakes occurred on this essay. Even a primary school student shall write in a good tamil structure,bur how it is possible to believe this essay was written by Ramana maharishi . In my assumption, Palani Swamy wrote this essay version,not Bhagavan. Because Palani Swamy was the one hailed from kerala,who was Malayalam as his mother tongue. Need more solid proof for this claim.

[@mariagabrielabottiglieri972]

Thank you for sharing this Satsang in KZbin. Very enlightening.

[@christianandersson2217]

Thank You! 🙏

[@visweshwaranr]

Thanks Michael and Ted. No matter how many times I listen to Michael, I feel there is something more I am getting clarity more and more. Cant find words to thank you Michael. 🙏He is a friend of David Godman . You two are such great souls to be able to clarify us.

[@SriRamanaTeachings]

Short Q&A videos from this channel can be watched on youtube.com/@sriramanateachingsqa

[@sjain8111]

that was beautiful explanation of relationship between original texts & GVK 🙏

[@all4arag]

Hi Michael. Yes Shankara wrote the text, Vakya Vritti. Swami Sarvapriyananda just concluded an excellent six part series on it.

[@SriRamanaTeachings]

Sri Arunachala Aksharamanamalai sung by Sri Sadhu Om, with English translation by Michael James, can be watched here: vimeo.com/ramanahou/am000 . For advertisement-free videos on teachings and songs related to Bhagavan Ramana, please visit vimeo.com/ramanahou and click 'showcases' on the bottom left. Each original work of Bhagavan Ramana has its own showcase with explanations of Michael James.

[@ra_ma_na]

Beautifully sung by Shree Sadhu Om. Followed by your lucid explanation the words are still lingering in these flaps dear 💕 Michael. Every read 🙏 of Bhagavan in His own words IS His Eternal Presence and the more often it's repeated the more incessant is the constancy. Love❤ Namo Ramana ❤

[@arunachalaful]

🙏

[@db8799]

The world begins and ends in sleep...

[@jobbob6031]

53:35 is the phantom ego, the appearance of a child growing and grasping unidentified name & forms. cx

[@shilpamurdeshwar5788]

No meat,no onion garlic,no stale food,no large amt , no spices is good for Sadhaka that is one following Maharishis teaching

[@jobbob6031]

Everything seen is real only when we feel the body identity as real Ego is the belief in a separate source of love and the need to be reunited with self. If this life appears real it’s because you accept birth as reality that happened. cx

[@Leenyazbek]

8:38

[@jobbob6031]

I am is the seer. the seer is not seen. I am not the knower, nor what’s known or the knowing. cx

[@xhesitase9729]

It been hard to focus. Constant pain in my leg and fingers. Chronic arthritis at 24 is hard to accept and continue.

[@radhikaschwartz3499]

Take some good anti inflammatories. Do the best you can. Your sincere intention is itself the fast track to freedom. I suggest listening to KZbin’s of Byron Katie online, I found it very helpful she teaches a form of Self Inquiry in this tradition but it’s much easier and better suited for most people esp in the west.

[@michaeldillon3113]

Do you know Mikaela Peterson's story re arthritis? Mikaela is Jordan Peterson 's daughter . Her story is on KZbin. Best wishes 🙏🕉️

[@rviswanathan]

🙏