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

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
siddhissiddhis. There Siva says that His bhakta never wastes a thought
on them. Again Siva says that He never grants boons. The desires of
the devotees are fulfilled according to their prarabdha only. When
Iswara Himself says so, what of others? In order to display siddhis
there must be others to recognise them. That means there is no jnana
in the one who displays them. Therefore siddhis are not worthy of
any thought. Jnana alone is to be aimed at and gained.
Sri Ramana Gita Chapter XVII, Verse 4, Translation in Tamil is
inaccurate.
Sri Bhagavan pointed out the inaccuracy and corrected it.
Vaidharbha’s question was: “In practice, the thoughts are found
to manifest and subside alternately. Is this jnana?” Sri Bhagavan
explained the doubt as follows:
Some people think that there are different stages in jnana. The Self is
nitya aparoksha, i.e., ever-realised, knowingly or unknowingly. Sravana,
they argue, should therefore be aparoksha jnana (directly experienced)
and not paroksha jnana (indirect knowledge). But jnana should result
in duhkha nivriti (loss of misery) whereas sravana alone does not bring
it about. Therefore they say, though aparoksha, it is not unshaken; the
rising of vasanas is the cause of its being weak (not unchanging); when
the vasanas are removed, jnana becomes unshaken and bears fruit.
Others say sravana is only paroksha jnana. By manana (reflection) it
becomes aparoksha spasmodically. The obstruction to its continuity is
the vasanas: they rise up with reinforced vigour after manana. They
must be held in check. Such vigilance consists in remembering = “I
am not the body” and adhering to the aparoksha anubhava (direct
experience) which has been had in course of manana (reflection).
Such practice is called nididhyasana and eradicates the vasanas. Then
dawns the sahaja state. That is jnana, sure.
The aparoksha in manana cannot effect dukha nivritti (loss of misery)
and cannot amount to moksha, i.e., release from bondage because
the vasanas periodically overpower the jnana. Hence it is adridha
(weak) and becomes firm after the vasanas have been eradicated by
nididhyasana (one-pointedness).
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