Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi (Compass)

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In this book, Sri Ramana Maharshi presents a clear path and a workable plan -- a "System of Enquiry" as he calls it -- for overcoming anxiety, stilling the mind, finding eternal internal peace and contentment, and discovering your true Self -- or as he might put it better, "Being" Your Self. Bhagavan: This is a mistake that people often make. What happens when you make a serious quest for the Self is that the ‘I’-thought disappears and something else from the depths takes hold of you and that is not the ‘I’ which commenced the quest. I Took a Pill in Ibiza, Buried in Detroit, Be As You Are, and Not That Simple are four songs selected from my upcoming album. They are best listened to the way they were written: at night, and alone. I hope you enjoy. Beginners 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. They would be told that if their attention was distracted by other thoughts they should revert to awareness of the ‘I’-thought whenever they became aware that their attention had wandered. He suggested various aids to assist this process – one could ask oneself ‘Who am I?’ or ‘Where does this I come from ?’ – but the ultimate aim was to be continuously aware of the ‘I’ which assumes that it is responsible for all the activities of the body and the mind. This encapsulates so many religions without all the dogma and shows the true law of the universe of which we are part, as Sri maharshi states 'Just as the sun cannot be seen in a densely clouded sky, so one's own Self cannot be seen in a mind-sky which is darkened by a dense cloud of thoughts.'

This book is regarded by many as the ultimate work in modern Advaita and nondualism, and rightfully so. Sri Ramana Maharshi was a sage's sage, as well as everyone's sage, and his words have inspired a whole generation of western awakened. At age 16, he heard somebody mention "Arunachala." Although he didn't know what the word meant (it's the name of a holy hill associated with the god Shiva) he became greatly excited. At about the same time he came across a copy of Sekkilar's Periyapuranam, a book that describes the lives of Shaivite saints, and became fascinated by it. In the middle of 1896, at age 16, he was suddenly overcome by the feeling that he was about to die. He lay down on the floor, made his body stiff, and held his breath. "My body is dead now," he said to himself, "but I am still alive." In a flood of spiritual awareness he realized he was spirit, not his body.

Sri Ramana’s central teaching is that the jnani must actively inquire about the nature of the true self (a practice called atma-vichara, or self-inquiry.) As such, the book is organized as a guide to building a practice of self-inquiry. As with so many spiritual texts, I am reading the words of these special individuals who have attained a very unique state of being and so I don't really get it on any deep level. This requires a certain amount of faith on my part, faith that they really know what they're talking about. I certainly have faith in Ramana Maharshi though. His answers to every question, despite being somewhat disconnected from normal human experience, seem to be correct; truthful on a very fundamental level and there is so much consistency in all his answers. So much so that after having read the first quarter of the book, you have pretty much already seen all he has to offer. His philosophy is almost impossible to fathom and yet so elegantly simple. Every question is confounded with answers along the lines of "yes, this is an interesting question, but if you were to practice the method that I have already taught you then you would immediately see that your question and all other questions are invalid". It could be somewhat infuriating and it might seem a bit bogus but, like i say, i have faith in the dude. Lets say the first quarter of the book is the hardest part as this is the basis of the book, you must have a basic grasp of the concept of the 'I' 'true self' and 'ego' before proceeding. This isn't a book you can just dip into willy nilly, it must be read methodically and digested to some degree before proceeding. If you get past the first quarter and into the second quarter this is when it really opens your eyes and continues in this vain for the remainder of the book. very well written, amazing the feeling I get listening to this song 2016-03-18T19:44:26Z Comment by Ciscus Be As You Are (Songs from an Old Blue Chair)". Rolling Stone. 2005-02-10. Archived from the original on 2018-01-28.

Except that I will continue to study and practice his teachings, and sooner or later, share them with my thousands of psychic astrology clients, for their health and happiness too. this song as inspired me to draw more and share the drawings it as inspired get in to muse gorp, so thank you so so so so so so so much. 2021-05-14T20:05:49Z Comment by Collector This song inspires me to draw thank you so much! ;) and this makes me cry a bit this has so many feels and I felt like I wanted to change myself but when I heard this song I wanted to stay different and be myself thank u...;) 2016-11-03T19:21:16Z Comment by BeanDip During his life Ramana Maharshi didn’t think it important to write down his teaching. He gave his energy to connecting with people directly. Some call it Darshan. This book comes from Godman’s interview with those who had experienced Maharshi’s Darshan, the embodiment and direct transmission of these ‘teachings’ by their teacher. hey, where can i find the acapella of this song, its great and i want to remix it, maybe you like my other work as well: https://soundcloud.com/coenvandenelsen/make-it-real 2016-01-26T21:11:56Z Comment by user5678114Allow yourself to forgive past errors and past behaviors you're not so proud of. Work on accepting mistakes and choices you've made; they're done and in the past. You had your reasons for them and the decision made sense at the time, so instead of harnessing yourself to past mistakes, allow yourself to learn their lessons and continue to grow. [3] X Research source This book presents Sri Ramana’s teachings in a question and answer format. The editor, David Godman, begins each chapter with an overview of Ramana’s views on the subject at hand, and he then launches into the Q&A exchange that makes up most of each chapter. The preludes are beneficial not only because they set up the topic, but also because they help separate Ramana’s core beliefs from the way he occasionally explained matters to non-jnani’s or those who weren’t ready to grasp what he believed was the fundamental teaching. (There’s a fair amount of, “Until you realize the self, X is true, but after you achieve self-realization Y will be true.)