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enlightenment
May 2009 
Cutting back on internet, aspiring for Self-realisation
M. Alan
A number of things have come up, almost synchronistically forcing me along the path of spiritual realisation. I'm a private person and i don't say everything on blogs the way some do, but suffice to say that several events have brought things to a head... So I'm cutting back on the internet, and aspiring much more intensely than I ever have for Self-realisation (capital "S" self; i.e. the atman). Currently Ramana Maharshi is my guide in this. I haven't abandoned Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, and never will. But their sublime path of Integral Yoga is so advanced that one can only really take it up when one has already attained self-mastery (because their Yoga only truly begins where the others end; i.e. at Enlightenment and Liberation. And when it comes to attaining the Self, Ramana is the purest teacher i have ever come across; not only a truely enlightened being, but also - and this is most important for me - the one who most embodies universal love and compassion for all sentient beings with equal consideration, regardless of external form. Once Self-realisation is attained then i can go from there to the even more challenging and even more rewarding path of Integral Yoga. But for now it is Raman's path that beckons. So this is what i am dedicating myself to.
It's not that i intend to give up the internet; i can't see myself ever cutting myself off from the world; that sort of otherworldly renunciation holds no appeal, nor is it any use for transforming this world. But it is all a question of priorities.
More to say, but i'll wait and see how things develop
Access: Public
I think life consists of inner and outer work … yet all the emphasis in our societies is on the outward path … action, interaction, work, family, marriage.
inner work is the self-realisation you speak of, self-actualisation, self-awareness. It is the Being within.
Balance between inner and outer is so vital for true joy.
blessings
Alan,
I am glad you have found a path which suits you for the present time. Ramana Maharshi was undoubtedly a great master, and his ideas live on in his most advanced disciples. It is also good to read that you still connect with Aurobindo, and his Integral Yoga.
Good Luck with your inner …and outer progress……
R.Searle.
Dear Alan,
I do understand your desire or wish or will to go more consequently in the direction of Self-realisation. Although I'm clear that the Self you wish to realize cannot be realised at all but is already real in the sense that it is an available perspective that can be taken any moment, and although I would take a very close look at what drives you to seek this Self-Realisation I feel like sending you blessings on your path, and sincerly hope that whatever your Self-Realisation will lead you to it will turn out to be fruiticious for all of us…
Love,
Mushin
Thanks all :-)
Wanderer, Balance between inner and outer; absolutely agree!
Robert, yes for me there is no contradiction at all between Sri Aurobindo and Ramana (how could there be, they were both avatars); the contradiction is only in the mental forms, not the essence
Mushin yes i agree (as does Ramana) that the Self is already real and ever-present. But there is still the matter of realising it consciously!
And of course i have taken a close look at what drives me :-)
In a way, posting that blog post was a public affirmation of my purpose, so i'm glad i did it
love & light
alan
Alan,
I always wondered if wanting to realise the Self is not kind of 'greedy' - kind of overrating the role of consciousness.
Probably I haven't been exposed to that kind of thinking enough. Sure I really way on a Path for two decades; but when I realised that there was nothing to realise, nowheree to go and nothing to get… that living as a human being is really all about truly incarnating and not about getting out of the game but really into the game (giving up eternity, if you like, for temporariness)… understanding and accepting that I see that everything is self-organising and self-propelled and self-motivated etc.
If the self / Self where something to be realised it would have to be an object. Trying to realise the Self is like the eyeball trying to see itself - at max. it can see its mirror reflection (but then there are lots of theories in which the self can reflect, and there is no pure mirror; and we know that conciousness is NOT a mirror….)
Hmm, just a couple of thoughts.
Love,
Mushin
Alan,
the one thing I'm trying to get about Ramana Maharshi…the
'Who am I?'(Nan yar)…It's a difficult task, one that needs the focus to follow
the 'I' as it shifts focus…how do you do the 'who am i?' meditation?
peace.
Dominic