You probably have read about this spiritual man from southern India, made well known in the west by Paul Brunton through his book “Search in secret India”. His actual name was Ramana Maharshi (1879-1950). He acquired the name “who am I? swami” since he used to advise people who came to him to enquire who they really are. According to him this was the most direct route to ultimate realization or rather removal of ignorance.
Recently someone sent me a book (actually a compilation of
conversation with the swami) which the sender said has lot in common with some
of the statements I have made in some of my books on Yoga. Actually, I had
never read about Ramana before, except the one by Brunton. So I was curious.
This book with more than 700 pages had many statements by Ramana about Yoga.
These statements were markedly contradictory to what is popularly known about
Yoga today and the statements made by several well known modern Yoga teachers.
Here is one snippet.
“They (the Hata yogis) think that after purifying the 72,000
nadis in the body, sushumna is entered and the mind passes up to the sahasrara
and there is nectar trickling.
These are all mental concepts. The man is already overwhelmed
by world concepts. Other concepts are now added in the shape of this Yoga. The
object of all these is to rid the man of concepts and to make him inhere as the
pure Self - i.e., absolute consciousness, bereft of thoughts! Why not go
straight to it? Why add new encumbrances to the already existing ones?”
More in the next post.
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