The Ultimate Guide to Ramana Maharshi's Self-Inquiry

[winterknight]

So I have just released an extensive guide just dedicated to the practice of Maharshi's self-inquiry. 

There's a description of the process, but also answers to common questions, and I'll be adding to that list over time. So if you have any questions about self-inquiry not answered there, feel free to let me know.

Meanwhile, I'd love to hear any feelings, thoughts, or suggestions. I expect to be revising the guide over time.

[Big Guru Balls]

I like it. Very good and simplified. I was glad to see that you mentioned quieting the mind. An indispensable aspect imo  that's often overlooked or rarely mentioned. Common questions was good and had a few I hadn't seen before. "It just seems like nothing" was addressed nicely.
 

It get's the greatly coveted, Big Balls Stamp of Approval.
Good job sir.

Edited June 8, 2019 by Big Guru Balls

[Leo Gura]

@winterknight Great pointers as usual.

[Annoynymous]

Thank you @winterknight you have been a fine inspirational for me

[Vinnie]

@winterknight Thankyou. You reminded me of psychoanalysis. Could be a turning point for me. I was always afraid of getting psychotherapy because I assumed the therapist would just pigeon-hole me, but that's obviously an assumption. The IPA don't have my country listed, do you think anyone would do? There's some kind of free psyche therapy at my varsity but I'm not sure if it's psychoanalysis.

You reminded me of a great talk between Adyashanti and Dr. Gabor Mate about spirituality and trauma too.

Edited June 8, 2019 by Vinnie

[Gili Trawangan]

@winterknight Great text!! I found it tremendously useful.

I do have a question. I have been at that place where there is an incredible sense of peace and once that happens there are no questions to be asked, indeed. However, I can say that there is peace there, but not clarity. When the mind comes back I don't know anything more about reality than I did before. I don't understand what happened. There is no realization, there is only peace. It just doesn't answer any questions, what the heck am I?

Will some kind of revelation come once I'm able to stay there longer?

[Preetom]

7 minutes ago, Gili Trawangan said:

@winterknight Great text!! I found it tremendously useful.

I do have a question. I have been at that place where there is an incredible sense of peace and once that happens there are no questions to be asked, indeed. However, I can say that there is peace there, but not clarity. When the mind comes back I don't know anything more about reality than I did before. I don't understand what happened. There is no realization, there is only peace. It just doesn't answer any questions, what the heck am I?

Will some kind of revelation come once I'm able to stay there longer?

What if the entire purpose was to stay in that peaceful, agendaless 'zone' and never coming back to analyse that 'zone'?

What if there is no solution for the 'person' but only its dissolution? 

 

[Gili Trawangan]

4 minutes ago, Preetom said:

What if the entire purpose was to stay in that peaceful, agendaless 'zone' and never coming back to analyse that 'zone'?

What if there is no solution for the 'person' but only its dissolution? 

 

@Preetom In that case, I just don't know what everyone around here is always talking about  being God, being infinite... They talk as if reality is understood, entirely. That's just not my experience and I have to admit it would be rather disappointing to the ego if no metaphysical questions were ever answered.

[Preetom]

49 minutes ago, Gili Trawangan said:

@Preetom In that case, I just don't know what everyone around here is always talking about  being God, being infinite... They talk as if reality is understood, entirely. That's just not my experience and I have to admit it would be rather disappointing to the ego if no metaphysical questions were ever answered.

Yeah this has been precisely my experience as well

It's like you feel tremendous hunger and try to solve the problem. Now what might be a solution to this problem? 

Self inquiry solves this problem by not making you run around collecting food and eating them; but by waking you up and make you realize that you were dreaming and your tummy is actually full as you just ate 1 hour ago and fell asleep.

See what happened here? Waking up did not solve the problem of hunger by giving you food, it dissolved the problem altogether.

Similarly, self-inquiry doesn't provide answers, concepts and solutions to all our philosophical, abstract, existential and even practical questions so that we can write a book about it and put it as a trophy in our showcase and proclaim ourselves as the best champion of truth. It just dissolves the entire frame of reference where all these questions lose significance as Winterknight wrote in his original blog post. 

It makes absolutely zero sense to ego. This impossibility and paradox of knowledge is like acid on ego. It moans and cries in dissatisfaction 

Edited June 8, 2019 by Preetom

[who chit]

1 hour ago, Gili Trawangan said:

Will some kind of revelation come once I'm able to stay there longer?

Yes. Revelations will come when they are are not looked for. Another paradox, but not really. It's only a paradox to a mind that has been conditioned to  getting or receiving knowledge from outward sources. There is an intelligence, a universal intelligence, in that limitless, silent space beyond the mind far greater than the basic intellect you're used to knowing. It is the source of all knowledge. When the mind becomes still and silent, absorbed in the source, the door to that intelligence opens up. This is the space of insight, revelation and wisdom.

 "Be still and know".

Edited June 8, 2019 by who chit

[winterknight]

6 hours ago, Big Guru Balls said:

I like it. Very good and simplified. I was glad to see that you mentioned quieting the mind. An indispensable aspect imo  that's often overlooked or rarely mentioned. Common questions was good and had a few I hadn't seen before. "It just seems like nothing" was addressed nicely.
 

It get's the greatly coveted, Big Balls Stamp of Approval.
Good job sir.

Thanks!

6 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

@winterknight Great pointers as usual.

Muchas gracias.

5 hours ago, Annoynymous said:

Thank you @winterknight you have been a fine inspirational for me

 

[winterknight]

2 hours ago, Gili Trawangan said:

@winterknight Great text!! I found it tremendously useful.

I do have a question. I have been at that place where there is an incredible sense of peace and once that happens there are no questions to be asked, indeed. However, I can say that there is peace there, but not clarity. When the mind comes back I don't know anything more about reality than I did before. I don't understand what happened. There is no realization, there is only peace. It just doesn't answer any questions, what the heck am I?

Will some kind of revelation come once I'm able to stay there longer?

In a sense. Keep asking when the mind "comes back," who it is that is asking about these revelations, who it is that's wants to know "more about reality." And remember, inquiry must eventually take over your life in every waking moment, not just in some particular set period of time.

You will find in the end that the questions that you thought you had are not what they seemed. That's the clarity that will occur.

Edited June 8, 2019 by winterknight

[who chit]

 

18 hours ago, winterknight said:

So I have just released an extensive guide just dedicated to the practice of Maharshi's self-inquiry. 

There's a description of the process, but also answers to common questions, and I'll be adding to that list over time. So if you have any questions about self-inquiry not answered there, feel free to let me know.

Meanwhile, I'd love to hear any feelings, thoughts, or suggestions. I expect to be revising the guide over time.

Nice work @winterknight. ?

[Gili Trawangan]

@Preetom Some understanding must come eventually, otherwise what would be all the fuss about enlightenment?

[Gili Trawangan]

2 hours ago, who chit said:

Yes. Revelations will come when they are are not looked for. Another paradox, but not really. It's only a paradox to a mind that has been conditioned to  getting or receiving knowledge from outward sources. There is an intelligence, a universal intelligence, in that limitless, silent space beyond the mind far greater than the basic intellect you're used to knowing. It is the source of all knowledge. When the mind becomes still and silent, absorbed in the source, the door to that intelligence opens up. This is the space of insight, revelation and wisdom.

 "Be still and know".

@who chit Thanks, that makes sense, however paradoxical.

@winterknight

1 hour ago, winterknight said:

In a sense. Keep asking when the mind "comes back," who it is that is asking about these revelations, who it is that's wants to know "more about reality." And remember, inquiry must eventually take over your life in every waking moment, not just in some particular set period of time.

You will find in the end that the questions that you thought you had are not what they seemed. That's the clarity that will occur.

@winterknight Thanks, indeed the challenge will be to self-inquire all the time. There are times when I do it a lot, but other times the ego resists, it's tiring (or so says the ego). It'll have to be a gradual process, I guess. 

[Preetom]

1 minute ago, Gili Trawangan said:

@Preetom Some understanding must come eventually, otherwise what would be all the fuss about enlightenment?

Yeah true.

But not necessarily how it is often exaggerated or how we tend to fantasize about it.

This is where frustration kicks in, when we start to see that we cant conceptualize enlightenment and all our notions about it is underwhelming

 

[winterknight]

5 hours ago, Vinnie said:

@winterknight Thankyou. You reminded me of psychoanalysis. Could be a turning point for me. I was always afraid of getting psychotherapy because I assumed the therapist would just pigeon-hole me, but that's obviously an assumption. The IPA don't have my country listed, do you think anyone would do? There's some kind of free psyche therapy at my varsity but I'm not sure if it's psychoanalysis.

You reminded me of a great talk between Adyashanti and Dr. Gabor Mate about spirituality and trauma too.

Yes, you're in NZ, right? Contact these guys and ask for a referral to analysis. If that doesn't work (they seem pretty small, actually), then try here or here or here. Let me know if you have further problems.

[Vinnie]

@winterknight Thankyou.