Q: What is Self-Enquiry?
Today, let us contemplate ‘Self-Enquiry’. What is this Self Enquiry? Sri Ramana Maharshi’s prime teaching is Self-enquiry. Enquire into your own nature and find out who you are.
We identify with our body, mind and intellect. This body, mind and intellect is limited in each sense, have their own shortcomings. The Self identifies with body, mind and intellect and feels the shortcoming. When it identifies with the body, it feels the body is becoming old, growing up, diseased, dying. When it identifies with the mind, the joys and sorrows of the mind are superimposed on the Self. When it identifies with the intellect, the thoughts are superimposed on the Self.
So, how to overcome this? What is the sadhana or spiritual practice, to overcome this?
There are many types of sadhanas that people prescribe. Karma yoga, bhakti yoga, jnana yoga and many more other types of sadhanas. All these types of sadhanas involve some action. Every action has some result. But the Self is not a result of any action. Because Self is your own nature. To get back to your own nature by performing some action will not help. It may help in the sense of calming your mind. It may make you peaceful and all those things.
But to get back to your own Self, no action will be helpful. So, for example, A lady is crying because she lost her necklace. Somebody comes and points out the necklace in her neck and says, “Oh! The necklace is already there on your neck”. Then she finds it and so she has put the necklace on and forgotten. The necklace was already on the neck. But searching for a necklace outside will not solve the problem.
Similarly, any action will not solve the problem of knowing the Self. Then what is the solution for knowing the Self? Only Atma Vichara or Self-enquiry. The mind which is going outwards has to be directed inwards. The mind which goes outwards creates the world. The world is nothing but name and form. Name and form results in thoughts. So, the mind is nothing but thoughts. The world is nothing but thoughts. Thoughts are constantly changing. One thought after the other thought keeps rising and falling in the mind.
What is the process of Self-enquiry? The Process of Self-enquiry is, behind all these thoughts there is one core thought called ‘I’ thought, the Self. The ‘I’ thought is a root thought for all the thoughts. This ‘I’ thought has been identified with the body and mind. That’s why it creates multiple thoughts.
So, you have to hold on to that ‘I’ thought. One way of holding on to the ‘I’ thought is to say that ‘Aham Brahman’. ‘Aham Brahman’ means I am Brahman, I am Consciousness. This is the method of contemplation. You hold on to the ‘I’ thought, or you enquire into the original ‘I’ thought. The mind has to go inwards. Find out from where the ‘I’ thought is coming? You will find that that ‘I’ thought is also not a permanent thought. It is also rising and falling, rising and falling.
So where is it rising from? It is rising from pure Consciousness. When the mind inquires into the origin of the ‘I’ thought, the mind finds its source which is pure Consciousness. Pure Consciousness is what we are. So, going back from the world to the idea of body, mind and intellect, back to the Self is the process of Self enquiry, Atma Vichara.
In Atma Vichara, we may have to discard some of the ideas or notions about the world which are not real. We have picked up so many ideas about the world, about God, about my self. Those ideas have to be discarded during Atma Vichara and you have to hold on to ‘I’ thought. When you inquire into the nature of ‘I’ thought, you reach back to the source which is Consciousness. That’s the Consciousness.
In Consciousness, there is no ‘I’ thought. It is nondual. Its nature is Sat Chit Ananda. Truth, Consciousness, and bliss all mean the same thing. So, you will get established in the Self. It is called Self-abidance. So, for Self-abidance, you have to discard the notion of the other. So gradually start from the outer world. You start going to the ‘I’ thought. Then you start realizing that ‘I’ thought is nothing but a Witness. There are witnesses and witnessed. So, you have to go back from the Witness to the Self.
The witnessed is the world. Witnessed is nothing but again thoughts. So, discard that thought. Recollect your true nature. You are of the nature of pure Consciousness. You are of the nature of Brahman, the Self, the Supreme. Recollect your nature. Reflect on your nature and stay in that nature.
What is your nature? It is Sat, Chit and Ananda. Existence, Consciousness, and bliss, infinity. It is nirvikara which means no movements in that. It is nirvikalpa which means no thoughts on that. It is pure stillness and silence. So, you have to recollect your state and be that. That is the process of Self-enquiry.
How to recollect your state? What is the closest you know of that? In the deepest sleep, there is no other. But you experience bliss. Deep sleep is an example of your own natural state. Try to recollect the state and be yourself free from the world of objects, free from the body, mind, intellect complex. That is called Self-abidance. This is the process of Self-enquiry.
Pranams
Prabhuji
References:
Self Knowledge Talks_T37_Self Enquiry_17Nov2016