2018-10-07 Sri Ramana Center, Houston: discussion with Michael James on Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu verse 21

At a meeting of Sri Ramana Center, Houston, on 7th October 2018 (via Zoom), Michael James discusses verse 21 of Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu (Forty Verses on What Is):
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தன்னைத்தான் காண றலைவன் றனைக்காண
லென்னும்பன் னூலுண்மை யென்னையெனின் - றன்னைத்தான்
காணலெவன் றானொன்றாற் காணவொணா தேற்றலைவற்
காணலெவ னூணாதல் காண்.
taṉṉaittāṉ kāṇa ṯalaivaṉ ḏṟaṉaikkāṇa
leṉṉumpaṉ ṉūluṇmai yeṉṉaiyeṉiṉ - ḏṟaṉṉaittāṉ
kāṇalevaṉ ḏṟāṉoṉḏṟāṯ kāṇavoṇā dēṯṟalaivaṯ
kāṇaleva ṉūṇādal kāṇ.
பதச்சேதம்: ‘தன்னை தான் காணல்’, ‘தலைவன் தனை காணல்’ என்னும் பல் நூல் உண்மை என்னை எனின்: தன்னை தான் காணல் எவன், தான் ஒன்றால்? காண ஒணாதேல், தலைவன் காணல் எவன்? ஊண் ஆதல் காண்.
Padacchēdam (word-separation): ‘taṉṉai tāṉ kāṇal’, ‘talaivaṉ taṉai kāṇal’ eṉṉum pal nūl uṇmai eṉṉai eṉiṉ: taṉṉai tāṉ kāṇal evaṉ, tāṉ oṉḏṟāl? kāṇa oṇādēl, talaivaṉ kāṇal evaṉ? ūṇ ādal kāṇ.
அன்வயம்: ‘தன்னை தான் காணல்’, ‘தலைவன் தனை காணல்’ என்னும் பல் நூல் உண்மை என்னை எனின்: தான் ஒன்றால், தன்னை தான் காணல் எவன்? காண ஒணாதேல், தலைவன் காணல் எவன்? ஊண் ஆதல் காண்.
Anvayam (words rearranged in natural prose order): ‘taṉṉai tāṉ kāṇal’, ‘talaivaṉ taṉai kāṇal’ eṉṉum pal nūl uṇmai eṉṉai eṉiṉ: tāṉ oṉḏṟāl, taṉṉai tāṉ kāṇal evaṉ? kāṇa oṇādēl, talaivaṉ kāṇal evaṉ? ūṇ ādal kāṇ.
English translation: If one asks what is the truth of many texts that say ‘oneself seeing oneself’, ‘seeing God’: Since oneself is one, how is oneself to see oneself? If it is not possible to see, how to see God? Becoming food is seeing.
Explanatory paraphrase: If anyone asks what is the truth of many texts that talk of ‘oneself seeing oneself’ and ‘seeing God’ [the reply is]: Since oneself is one, how is oneself to see oneself? If it is not possible [for oneself] to see [oneself], how [is oneself] to see God [who is the real nature of oneself]? Becoming food [to God] is seeing [both oneself and God]. [In other words, the ego being swallowed and consumed entirely by the infinite light of pure self-awareness is alone real seeing.]
An MP3 audio copy of this video can be listened to or downloaded from www.mediafire.com/?9xi9nu9bakq...

[@SriRamanaTeachings]

To watch this video without advertisements (which UA-cam have now began to place even on videos in channels like this that are not monetised), please visit vimeo.com/ramanahou/un21

[@ash-8012]

Thank you Michael 🙏

[@celebratinglife6075]

Thanks Michael 🙏

[@josefbruckner7154]

Now at last the quality of transmission technology is satisfactory ! Thanks.

[@srichakrahubli]

Michael, what do you say about ramesh balsekars teaching?

[@blueskythinking8312]

Dear Michael, I recently had a bout of severe ill health which also affected my mental stability. I could no longer even remember what self-inquiry was. It was all due to a simple change in the brand of my medication. I think self-inquiry and liberation wouldnt be possible without His blessings because something so trivial could affect the mind, the very tool we use to reach the Self.

[@sanjaylohia8301]

Dear Blueskithinking83, as you rightly say, ‘self-inquiry and liberation wouldnt be possible without His blessings’. However, can one practise self-investigation (self-enquiry) if one is mentally unstable? It may be difficult in extreme cases, but even in such cases if one already has sufficient sat-vasana (inclination to attend to oneself due to one’s past practice), it could be possible to turn within.
However, if our mental condition is not that bad, we can definitely practise turning within. In fact, the more we practise turning within, the more it will help in the recovery of mental illness. The more we will practise being self-attentive, the more the sattva-guna (the quality of equilibrium and calmness) of our mind will increase, and this will greatly help our recovery.

[@blueskythinking8312]

@@sanjaylohia8301 thanks for trying to explain. May be I have not understood what looking within is. Can u pls explain it to me? How do I know if I'm doing it right?

[@sanjaylohia8301]

Blueskythinking83, co-incidentally Michael James’ latest article is titled: ‘When Bhagavan says we must look within, what does he mean by within?’ You can read this article by visiting his website www.happinessofbeing.com and go to its blog section to read this article. The following is an extract from this article:
Everything other than ourself (including not only our body and breath but also all our thoughts, feelings, emotions, perceptions, memories, beliefs, desires and so on) is external to ourself, so what is ‘inside’ or ‘within’ is only ourself. When we attend to anything other than ourself we are looking away from ourself, so we need to turn back 180 degrees, so to speak, to look at ourself alone. This is what Bhagavan means by turning within or looking inside.
To answer your second question, you cannot go much wrong if you try looking within. You need to turn your attention away from everything else and try to be attentively self-aware. You are always aware of yourself whether or not you are aware of other things. However, you should not try to concentrate on any particular point in the body but just look deep within. We learn by practice, just as we can learn cycling only by trying to cycle.

[@blueskythinking8312]

@@sanjaylohia8301 thank u so much Sanjay. It's quite an abstract thing, this Self, or so it seems

[@sanjaylohia8301]

@@blueskythinking8312, self may seem to be an abstract thing if we do not know that self is what we actually are. Are you not aware of yourself? Do you not know that you exist? You are always aware of yourself whether or not you are also aware of other things, aren’t you?
In fact, metaphorically speaking, we are the most ‘solid thing’. We are pure self-awareness, but now his awareness seems to be mixed up its adjuncts - the adjuncts being our body and mind. Therefore now we are not aware of ourself as we actually are, but we are nevertheless aware. This awareness is self or ourself. How can it be an abstract thing?

[@ales1us1]

There is a "state" of timeless, spaceless perfect equilibrium. There is no awareness, no beingness , nor a presence of anykind there, yet there is neither an absence, the void. In this empty fullness, nothing can happens. And yet, it somehow appear to happen that "it" appears to be reflected, and seen - by itself. To become aware of itself. That sef-awareness , I am-ness, is the god. It used to be a source of all other apparently separated selfaware units - souls, selves. Yet basically they remained, they all are, only one self - god. Yet, as the separation of selves is only apparent, likewise is also the case with selfawareness (god), for in the absolute (parabrahman) nothing can really happen. This, "parabrahman" state is not something remote , exallted or transcendent. It is actually the natural state and it can be "experienced" at anytime, if there is only "seeing" throug the veil of personal, as well as through the subtler veil of pure (god's), selfawareness.
That is how (approximately) Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj has described his seeing of awareness, selfawareness and the absolute. Do you see any discrepancy there, between Sri Ramana's and Sri Nisargadatta's teachings?

[@pietromida9579]

What do you think of sleepwalking (somnabulism) in relation to awareness and the three states of waking, dream and sleep?

[@kenjones382]

Spare us the translation footnotes (put them in a book or something), stabilize the camera, and delineate sleep, which includes dreaming, as distinct from deep sleep.