Sri Ramakant Maharaj Quotes

[Shambhu]

One of my teachers was Sri Ramakant Maharaj, a direct disciple of Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj.  I would like to use this thread to share some quotes from his satsangs.

"What is gist or central point of your Reality? Except for your selfless Self there is no God, no Brahman, no Atman. And to accept this Reality you are to undergo meditation. Through meditation all these illusory concepts dissolve."

"Because we are using our intellect we say, “this is a realized person this is not a realized person” because you are having the body concept that “I am somebody else, this world is true”. In a dream, you see two people, one realized, one not realized. What happens after your awakening? In the dream, you see one God, one beggar. After awakening what happened to that God and beggar?  Has the beggar gone to hell, has God is gone to heaven? So, all these concepts are considering the body is my identity.  That body-identity is supposed to be dissolved, for which you are to undergo meditation.  Mediation is not Ultimate Truth. It is a process. Through that process you are trying to invite the attention of Invisible Meditator that You Are Ultimate Truth. It’s hammering. After having Conviction, after having Spontaneous Conviction, you don’t have to say a mantra also. In the beginning, you asked, “where is the Ranjit ashram?” You are searching, you are asking everybody. Now you are here at that address, you know where is this ashram. Likewise, after having Conviction you don’t have to go read even a single book. No need to go to anywhere. No temptation is there. Because you are Ultimate Truth. You are Final Terminal. You can use your body. Don't neglect responsibilities. Do your job, do your duties, there is no restriction. In the human body, you are to Identify Yourself. I’m not body, I was not body, I am not going to remain a body. I Am Formless."

[SriSriJustinBieber]

This is great. Probably the best advaita lineage.

Another analogy for conviction is to look at how we are so convinced of gravity, we dwell in that belief yet we are not constantly obsessed with it, it is just a given.

Edited October 6, 2021 by SriSriJustinBieber

[Shambhu]

"The Master tells us that there is no difference between you and me, but we are not able to trust this doubtlessly. To be able to be certain about it, meditation is necessary.  There should be a confluence of meditation, devotion and knowledge, and it must be practiced doggedly. You can do everything else, don’t leave anything lacking in your worldly life. If you are a student, do your studies but at the same time ascertain your true identity. When this kind of oneness is accomplished, then only it will be true Spirituality. Otherwise, you say 'I did bhajans, went to Maharaj and bowed down to him many times,' it’s useless! That doesn’t help, bow down to yourself (your Selfless Self).  This spiritual trick is given by Maharaj. It is called devotion without otherness. There is no otherness there, so it becomes spontaneous. No concepts of birth and death, no coming and going! How is the Paramatma? It doesn’t come and go anywhere, there is no attribute, no need of the four liberations!"

~Sri Ramakant Maharaj
 

[Shambhu]

"You are not the body, You were not the body, You are not going to remain the body, it’s a fact. But despite knowing all these things, we are having some subtle ego, intellectual ego, mind-based ego. We are accepting it literally. We are accepting it intellectually; we are accepting it egoistically. But not accepting it Ultimately. “Yes, my Master says I Am Brahman, I Am Brahman!” But the ego is there, “how can I be Brahman? Brahman is something else. God is something else, God is some high-power administering all this world like that.”  Since childhood till today we have developed so many concepts, spiritual concepts, so many concepts are there. You are to dissolve all the concepts. Because basically, Your Presence is Ultimate Truth. Prior to  beingness nothing was there. After leaving body, what remains? No relation is there. My mother, my sister, my father, my brother, my master, my God. Where are all these concepts prior to beingness? All these concepts came along with the body, and dissolve with the body."

~Sri Ramakant Maharaj
 

Edited October 7, 2021 by Shambhu

[Shambhu]

"Directly or indirectly we are posing our self in a body form, 'my body-form is permanent,' that concept is engraved upon us all the time. Therefore, ...spiritual science says you are to undergo meditation. And what do you mean by meditation?  Meditation means hammering yourself. Some ancient words are given to you. It came from the lineage of Dattatreya. Sanskrit words are given. Through those words, you are to hammer yourself all the time. The meaning of the words are, ‘I Am Brahman, Brahman I Am’.  So, hammering “yes, You Are Brahman, You are Brahman”, just like that.  Just like that a police officer says to a criminal “yes, you are guilty” “no, I am not”, “yes, you are, this is the evidence against you!”, “Ah Yes, So That I!”  Likewise, you are to torture yourself spiritually, You Are Brahman, You Are Brahman. Then That Reality will be Open, it will Explode within you. Yes, So That I!  And at that time, you will forget the body-knowledge.  Even though You are using body You remain separate from Individuality. You don’t feel individuality or anything. So, The Exceptional Experience cannot be counted in any words."

~Sri Ramakant Maharaj

[Shambhu]

"You must have Courage to accept Reality. That we are lacking. To have that Courage, to have that Power, to have that Energy, you have to undergo meditation, it is the only source. Mediation means hammering all the time your Selfless Self that You Are Brahman, You Are Atman, You Are Paramatman. It appears in duality. And outside of duality that individuality also disappears. In the beginning you say, “when I am sitting in meditation, I’m somebody doing meditation”, its duality, it’s correct. But we are taking the help of the illusion to remove another illusion. To say ‘I’ is illusion. To say ‘you’ also illusion. To say Brahman also illusion.  Entire world is illusion. It’s Fact. Today you may not believe it. It’s fact. Because its beyond one’s belief.  Even if you think intellectually, how you were prior to beingness? Your answer is “I don’t know.” After leaving this body, how you will be? “I don’t know.”  That “I don’t know” is a perfect answer because you were formless, you are formless, and you are going to remain formless. But there is (to be) no concept.  Dissolve all concepts, you are to remove all this illusory complication. It’s the feeling that the fire is there which is covered with the ash. Through meditation you are removing ash, removing concepts, body-based-concepts. It’s the purpose of spirituality.  Not difficult. Not impossible. Not to stress, not to struggle with anything. Go deep and deep and deeper within Your Selfless Self. Then forget this world. Therefore, the purpose is, there should not be any other concept like this. This is last concept.  No, I-Am, No You-Are. Nothing is there. No Brahman, no Atman, no Paramatman, these are the concepts. God is also a concept. It’s Fact. Because we are giving birth to God and Brahman. This is not an intellectual thing. So, for having some Conviction, you must undergo strictly meditation. In the beginning, “Oh what?”. But there is no other source. Yes, I know it. You have to devote some
time for You. Because you are traveling from this imbalanced illusionary world. So, we don’t expect there will be another illusionary world hereafter. This is Last Ultimate Truth and Ultimate Truth is not separate from You. So, only playing with the spiritual words and literal knowledge is meaningless. And dry discussion on spirituality, also meaningless."

~Sri Ramakant Maharaj

[Shambhu]

"Experience is just like a mirage. You know mirage? It is like the water appears but is not there. You know deer? Deer becomes thirsty. Looks for water. It sees, there is this sandy area. That sand appears to be water. Similarly, experience is there, but behind that experience, bottom of experience, some
spontaneous presence is there. Out of spontaneous presence, which is invisible, anonymous presence.  Out of that anonymous presence, invisible presence, projection takes place. It is an instant projection. You can’t say, but it is instant projection, and you feel ‘I am’. We are thinking considering
based on ‘I am somebody else.’ All questions come from, originated from, body-based knowledge. As you know, the body someday or other, is going to
disappear. Body someday or other, is going to disappear. When did you came across with the body? Prior to body-knowledge where were you?  You think from that point. Prior to 100 years, do you know about yourself, your shape, you are a man or woman, what did you know? Nothing. Now you say,
‘I am a woman, or I am a boy.’ See prior to consciousness, how you were. I am inviting attention to that particular point. So, it is decided it is not your identity. This knowledge is not your direct knowledge, perfect knowledge. It is not ultimate. Therefore, you have to undergo meditation."

~Sri Ramakant Maharaj

[Shambhu]

"At the time of leaving the body, there should not be any concept of ‘I am dying’. Because the last moment before death, that particular point, that
particular moment, there should not be the feeling that ‘I am dying’. And this is a fact, even if you think intellectually: The body is not your permanent
identity. Some or other day, willingly or unwillingly, you have to leave the body. So, who is listening from the body? Who is talking from the body? Who
is watching the world? And therefore, the entire world is projected out of our Presence. If there is no Presence in the body, what is the value of the body?  Nothing. If the Questioner is not there, what is the question? No questions are there. So, all replies you’ll get from inside, within you, because your inner Master is very strong. And through this meditation, your inner Master will emerge. It is called ‘Atman-Nivedanam Bhakti’—’final devotion’,
‘ninth devotion’—when you dialogue within yourself with your Self. Because, you see, you are the base of this world."

~Sri Ramakant Maharaj

[Shambhu]

"It’s very simple spirituality. But the impact of so many concepts, ‘I’m somebody else’, ‘I’m a man or woman’, ‘I’m Master’, ‘I’m disciple’, ‘I’m devotee’—
all these concepts are there. You’re Final Truth, you’re Ultimate Truth. Brahman, Atman, Paramatman, God, Master is not separate from you.  But all the time you’re counting yourself in body form, and therefore you’re expecting, “Oh God, bless me, do something, do some favor for me, put your hand on my head.” Why? You’re not a beggar. Why do this? Master has given you full authority.  Therefore, Nisargadatta Maharaj says, “I’m not
making you a disciple I’m making you a Master.”  Because basically you are a Master. You are the architect of your own life.  Because you forgot your identity, therefore we are giving you some words for meditation. Through meditation you are hammering yourself, “I am Brahman, Brahman I am. I am Brahman, Brahman I am”. And at the advanced stage, meditation is also illusion. But it is necessary. Just like you are removing one thorn using another thorn, hmm?  To remove one illusion, you have to take the help of another illusion. After having Conviction there is no necessity of anything."

~Sri Ramakant Maharaj

[Shambhu]

"In a dream you see so many things. You see temples, you see oceans are there, sky is there, so many things are there. So many people are there also. After awakening, what happens to all those people? You see good dreams and bad dreams. You’re witnessing those dreams? The ultimate stage is where all experience and experiencer dissolves or disappears. The ultimate stage means where all experience and experiencer disappear. Witnessing
and witnesser disappears. There you are. No experience and no experiencer. No witnessing, no witnesser. It’s the ultimate stage, final stage. Last
destination, last terminal. And therefore, don’t count yourself in body-form. It’s fact, you’re not the body at all. You’re formless, you’re omnipresent.
Everywhere your Presence is there just like space or sky."

~Sri Ramakant Maharaj

[Shambhu]

"Not to give so much importance to your thoughts.  Not to struggle with your mind. Okay, intellect is there, mind is there, for your routine life. Be strong.  There’s nothing wrong with you. Some body effect is there. And don’t think about other people, forget it. The entire world is an illusory world.
Shankaracharya says, “To say ‘I’ is illusion, to say ‘you’ is illusion, to say ‘Brahman’ is illusion—the entire world is illusion.”  Nothing has happened, and nothing is going to happen. All happening is within this illusory dream.  If there’s no root, where are the branches? What happens is that directly or indirectly we are considering that this world is true, and that ‘what I see is reality’. “My father, my mother, my sister, my wife, my Master,”—all these relations are body based relations. Prior to beingness where are all these relations? Any father was there? Any mother was there? Any sister was there? Any God was there? Master is there? Devotee is there? Nothing was there. Everything came out of nothing and everything dissolves within nothing because you’re everything."

~Sri Ramakant Maharaj

[Shambhu]

"Present life is not Ultimate Truth, it is not stable life, so likewise you have to think over it, who am I? That is the main question, that you have to concentrate.  After knowing the reality, though you are living this body form, you are unconcerned. Sometimes bliss is there, sometimes pain is there, sometimes depression is there, nervousness is there, sometimes happiness is there. It happens because you are holding the body, today you are happy, tomorrow depression may be there. Sometimes some devotees say “oh, I am doing spirituality, I am doing meditation, I am doing Bhajan, why is there nervousness, why is there depression?”. It is body knowledge, it is going to happen, depression, unhappiness, all these concepts are not there prior to Beingness. After leaving the body, have you got any depression? “OH, I am depressed”, there, nobody is there! The Presence merges with all the entire Presence, like a bucket of water you put in the sea, you can’t remove the bucket of water from the sea, it becomes the sea. Likewise, your Presence, after leaving the body, will merge within, vast, Brahman. So that type of conviction is required, then only, there will be spiritual survival “Yes, I have nothing to do with the world”. At present we survive with the body form, that is not survival at all. So be with you, always, do your job, do your duties. “OH Master, I am having so many problems”, some people ask whether or not to continue service or not, why? What is the harm? Spirituality is not asking you to leave your service, leave your responsibilities and go to the forest. Do your routine life, nothing is wrong with you, that means you have got ego, “I am somebody else, I am a spiritual man”, and that ego is supposed to be dissolved."

~Sri Ramakant Maharaj

[Shambhu]

“I am a spiritual man, I am Brahman” is also ego, you are neither Brahman nor Atman, you are everything. Atman, Brahman, Master, names are given to that Ultimate Truth that you are. So, desires are there, concepts are there, because you are holding the body, a body made by five elements. And there is imbalance in the five elements, it happens, up and down is there, today you will be so happy and peaceful, tomorrow some incident will happen, just like clouds are going and coming. So not to give so much importance, just be steady. So, the first thing: these body attachments are
supposed to be dissolved with spiritual knowledge.  And take positive views, not negative “oh something happened”, “ok, body is there, some or
other day, I will have to leave the body”. That is reality. You can’t postpone. At the most you can postpone 1 year, 2 years, 3 years. You are not going
to survive more than 100 years, so that is not your identity at all! So whatever job, duties you have, observe your duties and for which again I am repeating, meditation is the most part, because after meditation, Conviction will appear. Entire knowledge will be open within you, because you are
Master of Masters. You are neglecting that, you are discarding yourself, you are not knowing your importance, you’ve got tremendous importance.
But again, you are depending upon somebody, “Oh do something, bless me”, why do you want blessings? Ok. Blessings are there. Have your own
blessing, please yourself, your inner Master is almighty God. Master key is given to you in Naam Mantra, recite Naam Mantra continuously, there is
no harm. Not to pay a single penny, you are not required to bring any garlands or anything, not to bow down to me also, bow down to yourself.  We do not think about our own selves. Instead, for no reason we are concerned with others. We are all the time thinking what the other should do. Because
of this we have lost our peace. We are the cause of our own lack of peace. Therefore, as Ranjit Maharaj repeated so often - use your discrimination. While searching for the Self, the searcher himself becomes the search. You see the seen, but why don’t you see the seer in the seeing! We see the world, the people but without the presence of the seer, what value does it have? Identify the ‘I’ because of whose presence we see everything. That itself is called the God, Master, Ishwara. Here, the conviction should be total. After all what is Spirituality - it is to have conviction.

~Sri Ramakant Maharaj

[Shambhu]

Just Selfless Self. Master is also with form, basically Master is formless but, in the beginning, mind does not allow you to concentrate on Selfless Self
directly. So, in that case you have to see the Master in body form, you can concentrate on Master and some vibrations, some waves will come inside. As matter of fact there is no difference between Master and yourself, but in spite of this mind is not accepting the reality. To make the mind accept this reality in the beginning you have to concentrate on Master or Selfless Self, Master though it is with form it is easy for concentration. There is no difference between Master and disciple. Because we are holding human form, different human forms are there. In all bodies Spirit is one just like with all buildings all sky is one. Similarly, lakhs of beings are there so every being is having same Spirit called Brahman, Atman, Paramatmam, God, Master. Because Directly or indirectly we are considering our self as body form, so there is lot of attachment to that body form. Therefore, we are having an egoistic ‘I’. That egoistic ‘I’ is supposed to be dissolved, it is to be a humble ‘I’, not egoistic ‘I’. Try to identify, it is a very simple thing, this ‘I’ does
not know its independent identity. It is vast, it is everywhere omnipresent, in the sense how to some people Gods or goddesses are. Master is not
separate from you, so instead of playing with words – Master, God, Ultimate Truth, Maya, Brahman – through explaining or narrating, try to convince the invisible listener within you. So, one principle is that there is Selfless Self which is the ultimate truth you are. So why is Naam Mantra, or Master required?  Because you forgot your identity, you treat this dream as true dream. Everyday there is a different dream, but dreams are not true. Similarly, this is a long dream. As we are treating this dream as true therefore to discard all these illusionary concepts you have to undergo meditation.
 

~Sri Ramakant Maharaj