Raman Maharishi

Who Am I?
Who Am I?
21 min
Who am I?' arises from a relatively unconscious state, simply meaning, 'I will not remain the one who asked it.' You will have to become conscious. So the one who asks this question will have to disappear to get the answer. 'Who am I?' is for the wise, who are no longer interested in remaining troubled.
Is There a Knot of the Heart Within the Body?
Is There a Knot of the Heart Within the Body?
7 min

Questioner: Acharya Ji, pranam. Ramana Maharshi says, “Since the self is free from the notions of knowledge and ignorance, how can it be said to pervade the entire body in the shape of sentience or to impart sentience to the senses.”

“Wise men say that there is a connection between

Remaining untouched by all states of consciousness || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi (2015)
Remaining untouched by all states of consciousness || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi (2015)
10 min

Question: Sir, there is one statement here, ‘Sushupti does exists in your waking state’. Normally, in deep sleep, we don’t know we are there.

Acharya Prashant: When Maharishi is saying that Sushupti exists in your waking state also, he is using Sushupti to refer to Turiya . Classically, Sushupti

Asking 'Who am I' is honesty in face of falseness || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi (2015)
Asking 'Who am I' is honesty in face of falseness || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi (2015)
21 min

Question: Sir, Ramana Maharshi has talked about the ‘I’. He has always asked the seekers to observe this ‘I’, and this has always been the basis of his teachings. What exactly does Ramana Maharshi mean, when he asks us to constantly observe this ‘I’? How does one witness this ‘I’?

That Blissful Solitude is your nature || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi (2015)
That Blissful Solitude is your nature || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi (2015)
14 min

Questioner: The reading has this quote that,

‘Solitude is in the mind of a man, that it is an attitude of the mind.

A man attached to things of life cannot get solitude wherever he may be.

A detached man is always in solitude.”

So it doesn’t depend on the

The liberated one is liberated from maintaining liberation||Acharya Prashant,on Raman Maharishi 2015
The liberated one is liberated from maintaining liberation||Acharya Prashant,on Raman Maharishi 2015
10 min

Question: Sir, at one point Ramana Maharishi says, “When the praarabdh is exhausted, the ego is completely dissolved without leaving any trace behind.” And at another point he says, “You can experience the Self right now.” So how will this *praarab*dh change or break at a certain moment? How can

What is Religion? || Acharya Prashant on, Ramana Maharishi (2015)
What is Religion? || Acharya Prashant on, Ramana Maharishi (2015)
31 min

Speaker: So, this morning we are here, trying to look at what is Religion. It would be easy to go into this deeply researched and heavily documented topic as just another objective topic, but I wonder, whether we ask ourselves some very subjective, very personal, very intimate questions. I wonder,

Face the problem, and the solution will be evident || On Vivekachudamani (2018)
Face the problem, and the solution will be evident || On Vivekachudamani (2018)
12 min

Questioner (Q): How to live my daily life regardless of my family, job, financial situation, mood or body, and reach the Truth? Ramana Maharshi says, “One’s duty is to practice continuous self-enquiry.” The mind is so used to its tendencies that this is hard for me; it hijacks my attention

Do you really need to know the source of thought? || On Raman Maharishi (2018)
Do you really need to know the source of thought? || On Raman Maharishi (2018)
5 min

“'I' is the root of all thoughts because, in the end, very thought occurs to the ‘I’. So, first try to get hold of who this ‘I’ is, which will lead the enquirer to dissolve and merge in the source.” ~ Sri Raman Maharishi

Questioner: Acharya Ji, Pranaam! I want

Only Silence communicates fully; let words come from Silence || On Raman Maharishi (2015)
Only Silence communicates fully; let words come from Silence || On Raman Maharishi (2015)
4 min

Questioner (Q): (Referring to a text) Sir, it is written here, “Silence is ever speaking. It is the perennial flow of language.” How is ‘Silence’, a perennial flow of language?

Acharya Prashant (AP): What is language?

Q: Language is a medium of communication.

AP: Communication. What is the use of

What is a silent mind? || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharshi (2017)
What is a silent mind? || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharshi (2017)
6 min

“Silence is of four kinds: silence of speech, silence of the eye, silence of the ear, and silence of the mind.

Only the last is pure silence, and is the most important.”

~ Sri Raman Maharishi

Questioner: Acharya Ji, what does Ramana Maharshi mean by these lines? What is silence

Path of realisation vs Path of devotion||Acharya Prashant,on Raman Maharshi and Sri Ramkrishna(2019)
Path of realisation vs Path of devotion||Acharya Prashant,on Raman Maharshi and Sri Ramkrishna(2019)
8 min

“What is samaadhi?”

*“It is the complete merging of the mind in God-Consciousness. The jnani experiences jada samaadhi, in which no trace of ‘I’ is left. The samaadh i attained through the path of bhakti is called ‘chaitanya samaadhi’.” *

“In this samaadhi there remains the consciousness of ‘I’

If you go on wanting, how will you ever stop doing? || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi (2019)
If you go on wanting, how will you ever stop doing? || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi (2019)
6 min

Somebody asks Raman Maharishi, “It is an established rule that so long as there is the least idea of ‘I am the doer’, self-knowledge cannot be attained. But is it possible for an aspirant who is a householder, to discharge his duties properly without this sense?”

Sri Raman Maharishi says:

Karma carries the seed of its own destruction
Karma carries the seed of its own destruction
13 min

Question (Q): Acharya Ji, on being asked, can Karma ever come to an end? Ramana Maharshi says, "Karmas carry the seed of their own destruction in themselves." Dear Acharya Ji, please help me understand, how Karmas carry the seed of their own destruction?

Acharya Prashant (AP): Karma is action. We

The elimination of false knowledge || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharshi (2017)
The elimination of false knowledge || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharshi (2017)
18 min

Question: Acharya Ji, what is ‘elimination of false knowledge’ that Ramana Maharishi talks of when he says, “The individual is miserable because he confounds the mind and the body with the Self. This confusion is due to wrong knowledge. Elimination of wrong knowledge is alone needed. Such elimination results in

Only the rare one deserves to give up the scriptures || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi (2019)
Only the rare one deserves to give up the scriptures || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi (2019)
8 min

“All the texts say that in order to gain release one should render the mind quiescent; therefore their conclusive teaching is that the mind should be rendered quiescent. Once this has been understood, there is no need for endless reading.”

“In order to quieten the mind, one has only to

What you call as your normal state is highly abnormal || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi (2019)
What you call as your normal state is highly abnormal || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi (2019)
5 min

Ramana Maharshi also said,

“That which you take to be as your normal state is on the contrary, an abnormal state. Do you have to search for a long time before finding this ‘I’ which is none other than yourself?

This is what I mean when we declare that no

How to practice continuous self-enquiry? || (2018)
How to practice continuous self-enquiry? || (2018)
12 min

Questioner (Q): Acharya Ji, how do I live my daily life regardless of my family, job, financial situation, mood, or body to reach the Truth? Ramana Maharshi says,

“One’s duty is to practice continuous self-inquiry.”

I am not able to practice continuous self-inquiry due to mind’s tendencies. Please help and

Self-enquiry and freedom from sin || On Vivekachudamani (2018)
Self-enquiry and freedom from sin || On Vivekachudamani (2018)
15 min

Questioner (Q): You always mention how qualifications like dispassion and abandonment of action are necessary for enquiry to take place, while Ramana Maharshi says, “Even a great sinner can do enquiry.” How can this be reconciled? Also, you speak about renunciation, but Ramana Maharshi says, “All events in our lives

Each experience shows its own hollowness || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi (2019)
Each experience shows its own hollowness || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi (2019)
5 min

One must be free to do as one pleases and should not be served by others.‘No want’ is the greatest bliss. It can be realized only by experience. ~ Sri Raman Maharishi

Questioner: Acharya Ji, Pranaam ! Please elaborate on the above, especially with regard to what it means that

The Guru is helping you even when you are hostile to him||Acharya Prashant,on Raman Maharishi(2019)
The Guru is helping you even when you are hostile to him||Acharya Prashant,on Raman Maharishi(2019)
10 min

All the people in the world can be put under four categories:

The Guru’s disciples, bhaktas, those who are indifferent to Him and those who are hostile to Him.

All these will be benefited by the existence of the Jnani

Each in his own way and to various degrees.

Sri

Is there a real difference between one and the other? || On Raman Maharishi (2019)
Is there a real difference between one and the other? || On Raman Maharishi (2019)
7 min

All that one gives to others, one gives to one’s self. If this truth is understood, who will not give to others? ~ Sri Raman Maharshi

Questioner: In this statement, Raman Maharshi is saying that giving to others is giving to oneself, but the mind discriminates between ‘I’ and ‘the

The source of thought, and the utility of knowledge || On Vivekachudamani (2018)
The source of thought, and the utility of knowledge || On Vivekachudamani (2018)
10 min

Questioner (Q): I want to know the source of thought. I remember Ramana Maharshi’s words: “‘I’ is the root of all the thoughts because in the end, every thought occurs to the ‘I’. So, first try to get hold of who this ‘I’ is, which will lead the enquirer to

Forget Truth. There is nothing to remember || Acharya Prashant, on Ramana Maharshi (2016)
Forget Truth. There is nothing to remember || Acharya Prashant, on Ramana Maharshi (2016)
6 min

Question: There are two things which I hold very tightly. Raman Maharishi has written only these two pieces himself. One is – ‘Who am I?’ And the other one is – ‘Self Inquiry’.

I go through only these, because these are from a young man who was not conditioned, who

Not relief of mind, but destruction of the mind's centre || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi(2019)
Not relief of mind, but destruction of the mind's centre || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharishi(2019)
10 min

In deep sleep mind is merged and not destroyed. That which merges reappears. It may happen in meditation also. But the mind which is destroyed cannot reappear. The yogi’s aim must be to destroy it and not to sink in ‘laya’ (merging). In the peace of dhyana (meditation), laya ensues

Beware of such modern spiritual superstitions || Acharya Prashant (2019)
Beware of such modern spiritual superstitions || Acharya Prashant (2019)
7 min

Questioner (Q): Acharya Ji, pranam. Raman Maharishi talks about three states: waking state, dreaming state and deep sleep. Thoughts appear in the dreaming and waking state. For the realized one, there are no differences between these three states because they can consciously sleep, consciously dream and are conscious during their

No descriptions or sequences really apply to the Truth || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharshi (2019)
No descriptions or sequences really apply to the Truth || Acharya Prashant, on Raman Maharshi (2019)
10 min

Question:

“How do the triple factors, that is – the knower, the known, and knowledge, which are absent in deep sleep, Samadhi, etc., manifest themselves in the self, in the state of waking and dreaming?”

Sri Raman Maharshi:

“From the Self there arise in succession:

(i) Chidabhasa (reflected consciousness), which

The ego likes suffering
The ego likes suffering
4 min

Questioner (Q): Acharya Ji, Ramana Maharshi talks about ‘transcending and turning inwards'. Who is transcending and who is turning inwards?

Acharya Prashant (AP): The Ego, the I tendency. Whatever advice is given, is always given to the “I” tendency. Because at the center of everything lies this “I” tendency that

Sir, I Feel Addicted to You
Sir, I Feel Addicted to You
10 min
The ego seeks security from the world and even when it comes to the truth, it still wants to somehow uphold its security. It is all right if one wants to guarantee one's security against the world. But when it comes to truth and beauty, that's when one should just drop the defenses. It is all right to be immersed. It is all right even to be drowned. It is all right even to die. What is the point in conserving something that is anyway imperfect?
Why are Extroverts Considered Superior?
Why are Extroverts Considered Superior?
6 min
Generally, extroverts are the ones who have very little tendency to look at themselves. When you look at yourself, you realize what it is that you really want. Then you cannot be a blind consumer of the society's markets.
Why Do We Insult Our Scriptures?
Why Do We Insult Our Scriptures?
27 min
In modern times, reading and respecting the Shastras is often seen in a derogatory light. An Asura disregards the scriptures, saying, “What I know is right. My own experience determines the Truth,” rejecting them because they will not allow him to do what he wants. We have come to a point where we are not merely ignoring but actually insulting the scriptures. If you're sincere about knowing life, why avoid a document with deep insights into it?
Western vs Indian Philosophy: Who Holds the Key to True Freedom?
Western vs Indian Philosophy: Who Holds the Key to True Freedom?
7 min
They don't contradict each other. You see, what the existentialists including Sartre were saying was that the nature of the human being is such that even if you want to suppress or disown consciousness, you will not succeed. So, man is condemned to be free.
How to Bring Real Change in Oneself?
How to Bring Real Change in Oneself?
31 min
There are a million spiritual seekers who keep on practising observation and find that their lives are not changing at all. Just observing your daily life will often be of very little help. Observation of your own condition must be accompanied by exposure to something beyond yourself. Those who keep saying, 'Just observe and things will happen.' No, nothing happens just by observing. Love is needed. Love gives you the patience to wait. You require the depth of love that is prepared to wait till eternity.
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11 min
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6 min
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6 min
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6 min
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