Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi Complete ... - BrahminVoice.org

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
circulation, respiration, alimentation, etc. - or vital force, is said
to be (or reside in) the core or essence of the organism. Thus the
mind may be regarded as the manifestation of vital force which
again may be conceived as residing the Heart.
D.: Now for the art of eliminating the mind and developing intuition
in its stead, are they two distinct stages with a possible neutral
ground which is neither mind nor intuition? Or does the absence
of mental activity necessarily involve Self-Realisation?
M.: To the abhyasi (practitioner) there are two distinctive stages.
There is a neutral ground of sleep, coma, faint, insanity, etc., in
which the mental operations either do not exist or consciousness
of Self does not prevail.
D.: Taking the first part first, how is the mind to be eliminated or
relative consciousness transcended?
M.: The mind is by nature restless. Begin liberating it from its
restlessness; give it peace; make it free from distractions; train
it to look inward; make this a habit. This is done by ignoring the
external world and removing the obstacles to peace of mind.
D.: How is restlessness removed from the mind?
M.: External contacts - contacts with objects other than itself - make the
mind restless. Loss of interest in non-Self, (vairagya) is the first step.
Then the habits of introspection and concentration follow. They are
characterised by control of external senses, internal faculties, etc.
(sama, dama, etc.) ending in samadhi (undistracted mind).
Talk 27.
D.: How are they practised?
M.: An examination of the ephemeral nature of external phenomena
leads to vairagya. Hence enquiry (vichara) is the first and foremost
step to be taken. When vichara continues automatically, it results
in a contempt for wealth, fame, ease, pleasure, etc. The ‘I’ thought
becomes clearer for inspection. The source of ‘I’ is the Heart - the
final goal. If, however, the aspirant is not temperamentally suited
to Vichara Marga (to the introspective analytical method), he
must develop bhakti (devotion) to an ideal - may be God, Guru,
humanity in general, ethical laws, or even the idea of beauty. When
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