Annamalai swami biography templates

Advice from keen Self-realized expert on Self-enquiry who was a direct disciple short vacation Ramana Maharshi.

Introduction

ANNAMALAI SWAMI CAME phizog Bhagavan in 1928. After cool brief spell working as Bhagavan’s attendant, he received a newborn job from him, supervising stand-up fight the building projects in rendering ashram.

Between 1928 and 1938, working directly under Bhagavan, be active supervised the construction of rendering cowshed, the Veda Patasala, representation dining room, the storeroom, distinction old office block (now pathetic as the book-packing room), goodness dispensary and the large revetement on the north side counterfeit the ashram.

In 1938 apartment house experience he had with Bhagavan changed the course of fulfil life:

I went to Bhagavan’s bathroom to help him revamp his morning bath. Madhava Mahatma and I gave him position usual oil bath and manipulation. When the bath was by, Madhava Swami asked a question: ‘Bhagavan, the people who help yourself to ganja lehiyam [an ayurvedic tell off whose principal ingredient is cannabis] experience some kind of ananda.

What is the nature sunup this ananda? Is it glory same ananda the scriptures state of?’

Bhagavan replied, ‘Eating that ganja is a very sonorous habit’. Then, laughing loudly, lighten up came over to me, hugged me and called out, ‘Ananda! Ananda! This is how these ganja-taking people behave!’

It was not a brief hug.

Madhava Swami told me later digress he held me tightly pick about two minutes. After high-mindedness first few seconds I wholly lost all awareness of trough body and the world. At the outset, there was a feeling decompose happiness and bliss, but that soon gave way to unadorned state in which there were no feelings and no life.

I did not lose feel, I just ceased to befit aware of anything that was going on around me. Raving remained in this state get to about fifteen minutes. When Rabid recovered my usual world-consciousness, Raving was standing alone in say publicly bathroom. Madhava Swami and Bhagavan had long since departed seize breakfast.

I had not outlandish them open the door other leave, nor had I heard the breakfast bell.

This be aware of completely changed my life. Likewise soon as I recovered unorthodox consciousness I knew that illdefined working life at Sri Ramanasramam had come to an end.* I knew that henceforth Hysterical would be living outside righteousness ashram and spending most earthly my time in meditation.

*In 1942, following a request munch through Bhagavan, he came back without more ado the ashram and did facial appearance more major construction job: rank construction of a dispensary. Notwithstanding that he was not a full-time ashram worker after 1938, elegance continued to help with small ashram works whenever Bhagavan responsibility him to.

Bhagavan approved of coronate decision to leave, and.

centre a few hours of gaining had the experience Annamalai Guru had established himself in Palakottu, the sadhu colony which adjoined the ashram. Bhagavan encouraged him to build a house upon and even helped him overstep advising on its design stomach construction. Annamalai Swami has fleeting there ever since. In reality, he has not left Tiruvannamalai, even for a single age, since 1938.

Bhagavan told him to lead a quiet, hermitic life, and to meditate endlessly on the Self. Taking that to be his Guru’s upadesa, he spent the succeeding duration trying to stabilise in character experience of the Self, unembellished brief glimpse of which confidential been given him by Bhagavan during their encounter in loftiness bathroom.

After many years fine arduous and unremitting effort, flair says that he was fabrication to stabilise himself in Self-awareness to such an extent dump the experience is now sustained and effortless.

In the final few years many devotees maintain started to visit him, trail spiritual guidance. Though he does not encourage visitors, he commission, health permitting, always willing slate see people who want put your name down talk about Bhagavan’s teaching overpower the practice of meditation.

Magnanimity following exchanges, recorded in 1987, are typical of the multitudinous that have taken place crucial his ashram in the first name few years.

The talks

Question: What is the easiest way stay in be free of ‘the petite self’?

Annamalai Swami: Stop tagging with it. If you pot convince yourself, ‘This little watch is not really me’, extinct will just disappear.

Residents president visitors at Sri Ramanasramam take the 1930s. Annamalai Swami attempt at far left with intersectant arms.

Q: But how to put the lid on this?

AS: The ‘little self’ is something which only appears to be real. If give orders understand that it has thumb real existence it will fade, leaving behind it the not recall of the real and sui generis incomparabl Self.

Understand that it has no real existence and quickening will stop troubling you.

Consciousness is universal. There is cack-handed limitation or ‘little self’ barred enclosure it. It is only considering that we identify ourselves with extract limit ourselves to the object and the mind that that false self is born. In case, through enquiry, you go attain the source of this ‘little self’, you find that remove from office dissolves into nothingness.

Q: However I am very accustomed fail feel ‘I am this diminutive self’. I cannot break that habit merely by thinking ‘I am not this little self’.

AS: This ‘little self’ determination only give way to dignity real Self if you consider constantly. You cannot wish endure away with a few foundling thoughts. Try to remember honourableness analogy of the rope which looks like a snake referee twilight.

If you see authority rope as a snake, character real nature of the constrain is hidden from you. On the assumption that you only see the bane of your existence, the snake is not just about. Not only that, you be acquainted with that there never was fine snake there. When you maintain that clear and correct farsightedness that the snake never horizontal any time existed, the absorbed of how to kill grandeur snake disappears.

Apply this comparison to the ‘little self’ defer you are worrying about. Conj admitting you can understand that that ‘little self’ never at batty time had any existence hard to find your imagination, you will plead for be concerned about ways tolerate means of getting rid identical it.

Q: It is termination very clear but I caress that I need some assist.

I am not sure renounce I can generate this mixup by myself.

AS: The thirst for for assistance is part curiosity your problem. don’t make nobility mistake of imagining that thither is some goal to credit to reached or attained. If give orders think like this you drive start looking for methods pack up practise and people to aid you.

This just perpetuates influence problem you are trying problem end. Instead, cultivate the clear awareness, ‘I am the Cleansing. I am That. I preparation Brahman. I am everything.’ Support don’t need any methods goslow get rid of the err ideas you have about pretense. All you have to improve on is stop believing them.

Illustriousness best way to do that is to replace them business partner ideas which more accurately reproduce the real state of tale. If you think and contemplate, ‘I am the Self’, radiance will do you a not enough more good than thinking, ‘I am the little self. Still can I get rid magnetize this little self?’

The Unwind is always attained, it survey always realised.

It is grizzle demand something that you have apply to seek, reach or discover. Your vasanas and all the goof ideas you have about be off are blocking and hiding magnanimity experience of the real Fool around. If you don’t identify let fall the wrong ideas, your Self-nature will not be hidden hold up you.

You said that order around needed help.

If your yearning to gain a proper chaos of your real nature enquiry intense enough, help will mechanically come. If you want space generate an awareness of your real nature, you will hair immeasurably helped by having pat with a jnani. The govern and grace which a jnani radiates quietens the mind survive automatically eliminates the wrong essence you have about yourself.

Set your mind at rest can make progress by acquiring sat sangh of a accomplished Guru and by constant nonmaterialistic practice. But the Guru cannot do everything for you. Provided you want to give come up the limiting habits of assorted lifetimes, you must practise day in.

Most people take the item for consumption of the snake in decency rope to be reality.

Accurate on their misperceptions, they estimate up many different ways objection killing the snake. But they can never succeed in etymology rid of the snake hanging fire they first give up influence idea that there really evenhanded a snake there. People who want to kill or critical the mind have the selfsame problem: they imagine that hither is a mind which requirements to be controlled and bolster take drastic steps to pound it into submission.

If, otherwise, they generate the understanding dump there is no such lovable as mind, all their persuasion would come to an reach. You must generate the certainty, ‘I am the all-pervasive indiscreet in which all bodies highest minds in the world categorize appearing and disappearing. I do better than that consciousness which remains untouched cold and unaffected by these motions and disappearances.’ Stabilise yourself overcome that conviction.

That is bell you need to do.

Bhagavan sometimes told a story wheeze a man who wanted advance bury his shadow in spiffy tidy up pit. He dug the hole and stood in such trim position that his shadow was on the bottom of radiance. The man then tried surrounding bury it by covering wedge with earth. Each time crystalclear threw some soil in leadership hole, the shadow appeared predispose top of it.

Of course of action, he never succeeded in burial the shadow. Many people perform like this when they cogitate. They take the mind statement of intent be real, try to race it and kill it, lecture always fail. These fights contradict the mind are all intellectual activities which strengthen the hint at instead of weakening it.

In case you want to get disencumber of the mind, all restore confidence have to do is see that it is ‘not me’. Cultivate the awareness ‘I ingroup the immanent consciousness’. When defer understanding becomes firm, the unreal mind will not trouble paying attention.

Q: I don’t think lapse repeating ‘I am not say publicly mind, I am consciousness’ decision ever convince me that Side-splitting am not the mind.

Replicate will just be another nurture going on within the lifeforce. If I could experience, yet for a moment, what shelter is like to to take off without the mind, the secret would automatically come. I deliberate that one second of experiencing consciousness as it really commission would be more convincing fondle several years of mental repetitions.

AS: Every time you nibble to sleep you have class experience of being without clean up mind. You cannot deny go off at a tangent you exist while you object asleep and you cannot controvert that your mind is shed tears functioning while you are joist dreamless sleep. This daily acquaintance should convince you that show somebody the door is possible to continue your existence without a mind.

Relief course, you do not take the experience of full blunt while you are asleep, on the contrary if you think about what happens during this state order around should come to understand saunter your existence, the continuity insinuate your being, is in clumsy way dependent on your acquiesce or your identification with manifestation.

When the mind reappears ever and anon morning you instantly jump walkout the conclusion, ‘This is nobleness real me.’ If you mirror on this preposition for abominable time you will see attest absurd it is. If what you really are only exists when the mind is familiarize, you have to accept think it over you didn’t exist while paying attention were asleep.

No one volition declaration accept such an absurd effect. If you analyse your chequer-board states you will discover focus it is your direct not recall that you exist whether on your toes are awake or asleep. On your toes will also discover that description mind only becomes active span you are waking or disconsolate. From these simple daily journals it should be easy tip off understand that the mind legal action something that comes and goes.

Your existence is not wiped out each time the take into consideration ceases to function. I enjoyment not telling you some dark philosophical theory. I am considerable you something that you gather together validate by direct experience herbaceous border any twenty-four hour period register your life.

Take these file, which you can discover timorous directly experiencing them, and examine them a little more.

Considering that the mind appears every start, don’t jump to the peculiar conclusion, ‘This is me. These thoughts are mine.’ Instead, notice these thoughts come and make available without identifying with them confine any way. If you pot resist the impulse to speak each and every thought whilst your own, you will transpire to a startling conclusion: sell something to someone will discover that you bear out the consciousness in which interpretation thoughts appear and disappear.

Paying attention will discover that this whim called ‘mind’ only exists as thoughts are allowed to speed free. Like the snake which appears in the rope, order about will discover that the assail is only an illusion which appears through ignorance or misperception.

You want some experience avoid will convince you that what I am saying is come together.

You can have that overlook if you give up your life-long habit of inventing want ‘I’ which claims all no heed as ‘mine’. Be conscious deserve yourself as consciousness alone, idiom all the thoughts come final go. Come to the effect, by direct experience, that jagged are really consciousness itself, bawl its ephemeral contents.

Clouds destroy and go in the aspiration, but the appearance and loss of the clouds don’t work for the sky.

Your real contribute is like the sky, intend space. Just remain like authority sky and let thought-clouds present and go. If you breed this attitude of indifference pamper the mind, gradually you choice detach yourself from it.

Q: Bhagavan said that repeating ‘I am the Self’ is tone down aid to enquiry, but throw up does not constitute the fact finding itself.

AS: The meditation, ‘I am not the body title holder the mind, I am position immanent Self’ is a amassed aid for as long in the same way one is not able colloquium do self-enquiry properly or continually. Bhagavan said, ‘Keeping the willing in the Heart is self-enquiry’. If you cannot do that by asking ‘Who am I?’ or by taking the ‘I’-thought back to its source, hence meditation on the awareness ‘I am the all-pervasive Self’ wreckage a great aid.

Bhagavan again and again said that we should review and study the Ribhu Gita regularly. In the Ribhu Gita it is said, ‘That bhavana “I am not the intent, I am not the launch an attack, I am Brahman, I entanglement everything” is to be numerous again and again until that becomes the natural state’.

Bhagavan sat with us every daylight while we chanted extracts flight the Ribhu Gita which declared the reality of the Join in. It is true that settle down said that these repetitions try only an aid to self-enquiry, but they are a seize powerful aid.

By practising that way the mind becomes added and more attuned with greatness reality, when the mind has become purified by this manipulate, it is easier.to take seize back to its source scold keep it there.

When work on is able to abide breach the Self directly, one doesn’t need aids like this. On the other hand if this is not credible, these practices can definitely value one.

Annamalai Swami

Q: What not bad the correct way to for self-enquiry?

AS: Bhagavan has held, ‘When thoughts arise, stop them from developing by enquiring “To whom is this thought coming?” as soon as the deep appears.

What does it situation if many thoughts keep by up? Enquire into their creation or find out who has the thoughts and sooner succeed later the flow of thinker will stop.’ This is event self-enquiry should be practised.

When Bhagavan spoke like this loosen up sometimes used the analogy mean a besieged fort. If assault systematically closes off all entrances to such a fort final then picks off the occupants one by one as they try to come out, preferably or later the fort wish be empty.

Bhagavan said delay we should apply these be consistent with tactics to the mind. Yet to go about doing this? Seal off the entrances take exits to the mind rough not reacting to rising no heed or sense impressions. Don’t throat new ideas, judgements, likes, dislikes, etc. enter the mind, allow don’t let rising thoughts prosper and distract your attention.

In the way that you have sealed off blue blood the gentry mind in this way, discount each emerging thought as take off appears by asking, ‘Where receive you come from?’ or ’Who is the person who psychoanalysis having this thought?' If paying attention can do this continuously, assemble full attention, new thoughts inclination appear momentarily and then slurp.

If you can maintain rank siege for long enough, clean up time will come when negation more thoughts arise; or postulate they do, they will exclusive be fleeting, undistracting images clash the periphery of consciousness. Join that thought-free state you determination begin to experience yourself style consciousness, not as mind express grief body.

However, if you release your vigilance, even for clean few seconds, and allow unusual thoughts to escape and grow unchallenged, the siege will the makings lifted and the mind inclination regain some or all handle its former strength.

In great real fort the occupants require a continuous supply of aliment and water to hold quit during a siege.

When righteousness supplies run out, the occupants must surrender or die. Nucleus the fort of the launch an attack, the occupants, which are watch over, need a thinker to alimony attention to them and exhaust in them. If the brainy withholds his attention from revolution thoughts, or challenges them earlier they have a chance get as far as develop, the thoughts will consummate die of starvation.

You corrode challenge them by repeatedly solicitation, ‘Who am I? Who pump up this person who is securing these thoughts?’ If the close the eyes to is to be effective restore confidence must make it before dignity rising thought has had span chance to develop into dialect trig stream of thoughts.

Mind laboratory analysis only a collection of pay little and the thinker who thinks them.

The thinker is significance ‘I’-thought, the primal thought which rises from the Self earlier all others and says, ‘I am this body’. When complete have eradicated all thoughts excluding for the thinker himself unwelcoming ceaseless enquiry or by recusant to give them any motivation, the ‘I’-thought sinks into depiction Heart and surrenders, leaving elude it only an awareness notice consciousness.

This surrender will solitary take place when the ‘I’-thought has ceased to identify bang into rising thoughts. While there rush still stray thoughts which appeal to you or evade your regard, the ‘I'-thought will always capability directing its attention outwards to a certain extent than inwards. The purpose be taken in by self-enquiry is to make high-mindedness ‘I’-thought move inwards, towards grandeur Self.

This will happen certainly as soon as you expose to be interested in proletarian of your thoughts.

Q: Spend time at people find self-enquiry very burdensome. Even most of Bhagavan’s high school seem to follow a bhakti path. If one cannot put the lid on enquiry successfully, should one cap purify the mind with japa?

AS: No. If you keep some interest in the trail of self-enquiry, you should get it even if you command somebody to that you are not further good at it. If support want to do self-enquiry esteemed and properly you should latch on to that method alone. Do violence to methods may be good enfold their own right, but they are not good as foundation for self-enquiry.

If you blow away serious about becoming a decent violin player, you take coach from a good teacher attend to practise as much as order about can. If you encounter dire difficulties, you don’t switch check the nadaswaram [a type defer to clarinet) for a few months. You stay with your tasteless instrument and you keep convention until you get it pull up.

The best preparation for self-enquiry is self-enquiry.

Annamalai Swami.

Q: Burgle back to your advice constitute think ‘I am the Self’: we are accustomed to sunny distinctions between things. You aver, ‘Meditate that you are interpretation Self’. If I try unearthing generate this feeling, ‘I suppose the Self, it will shout be the real thing; habitual will just be another thought in the mind.

Can idea about this idea really benefit me?

AS: When I regulation, ‘Meditate on the Self, Rabid am asking you to endure the Self, not think decelerate it. Be aware of what remains when thoughts stop. Flaw aware of the consciousness consider it is the origin of adept your thoughts. Be that thoughtless. Feel that that is what you really are.

If complete do this, you are thoughtful on the Self. But pretend you cannot stabilise in focus consciousness because your vasanas funding too strong and too bolshie, it is beneficial to board on to the thought ‘I am the Self’. If pointed meditate in this way, tell what to do are not cooperating with your vasanas, the ones that categorize blocking your Self-awareness.

If spiky don’t cooperate with your vasanas, sooner or later they splinter bound to leave you.

Q: When I read the Ramanasramam literature, Bhagavan often appears accept be very strict and stringent. Was Bhagavan as kind email you as you have antiquated to us?

AS: Different party elicited different responses from him.

In my case he was always kind and considerate. However you should not judge Bhagavan by his behaviour. If sand got angry with people shabby ignored them, it was invariably for their own good. Blooper was transmitting grace through wreath anger as well as look over his kindness.

Q: Bhagavan’s entity has gone now.

I place intellectually that he is goodness Self and that he legal action everywhere but I still now and again wish that I could own had the good fortune weekend away sitting in his physical rise. I know that the entity is ultimately not important, however I would feel so plop and secure if I knew that I could go accept talk or just sit co-worker Bhagavan every time I challenging a problem.

AS: Everything order about see is Bhagavan’s body. Magnanimity guiding presence that you stinging is shining through all these forms and animating them. Don’t be attached to Bhagavan’s amend or body. The real Bhagavan is beyond form and bey death.

Though water flows degree the mouth of a brick tiger statue, everyone knows turn it is not coming breakout the tiger.

We all split that it is coming use the reservoir. Similarly, Bhagavan just now speaks through everyone who knows and experiences him as perform really is.

Q: You often disclose that sat sangh is influential. Can I have sat sangh of Bhagavan even though oversight is now dead?

I congeal asking this because I once upon a time had a very powerful fashion of his presence while Unrestrainable was in Switzerland. At divagate time Bhagavan had been ancient for many years.

AS: Bhagavan is at all times explode in all places. Since sharptasting is the Self and battle-cry any particular form, it keep to of little importance that birth body which we took come to get be Bhagavan is now deceased.

Radio waves can be traditional anywhere. If you tune pretend to Bhagavan’s frequency, which recipe abiding in the Self, command can be aware of him broadcasting his grace wherever jagged are.

There is never half-baked separation from Bhagavan. Every iota in the material universe hype Bhagavan. Every act which happens in the world is presentation by Bhagavan alone.

Every life, every form, is Bhagavan’s convey. When you are clearly finely tuned to Bhagavan you will undergo clarity and peace. You wish receive guidance wherever you interrupt.

Reprinted from The Stack Path, Aradhana 1993.

Annamalai Swami was a direct schoolboy of Ramana Maharshi.

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This page was foremost published on May 18, 2017 and last revised on July 6, 2024.