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ramana maharshi | who am I? | guru | self-enquiry | spiritual instruction | wisdom | words | silence | daily talks | reality | padam - formless self | arunachala
abide in the self | upadesa tiruvahaval | annamalai swami | self alone is real | swami rama tirtha | real self | i am that | practical freedom | sun of self
h.w.l. poonja | freedom now | remembering | meeting ramana | who is aware of consciousness? | who are you? | words | no practice | final abode | lion's roar
eternal rest | peace is always everywhere | plunge into eternity | i am eternal self | summa iru | wisdom | here and now in lucknow | reject everything
ma anandamayi | words | old tcheng | sayings | siddharameshwar maharaj | beyond nothing | perfection of material science | master key | non-action | self
nisargadatta maharaj | words | a great maharashtrian jnani | self-knowledge and self-realisation | meet the sage | detachment | awareness | who am I?
life | "i am" | all is a dream | guru and disciple | ranjit maharaj | meeting siddharameshwar | everything is nothing | forget everything | death is not true
real and unreal | u.g. krishnamurti | natural state | words | remembering | no separation | nothing to understand | chief joseph | way of the warrior
advaita | vedanta | devikalottara | supreme wisdom | atma sakshatkar | direct awareness of the self | vichara mani mala | jewel garland of enquiry
avadhuta gita | ever-free | ashtavakra gita | purest expression of truth | ribhu gita | heart | wisdom | bhagavad gita | essence | the song celestial
adi shankaracharya | atma bodha | aparokshanubhuti | dakshinamurti strotram | dasasloki | nirvana shatkam | drik drisya viveka | vivekachudamani
seng tsan | faith mind | gaudapada | mandukya karika | katha upanishad | death as teacher | yoga vasistha | dispassion | seeker's behaviour | essence
ramakant maharaj | reality has nothing to do with words | lama guendune rinpoché | free and easy | ellam ondre | all is one | william samuel | now

H. W. L.  POONJA

FINAL  ABODE



Let there be peace and love among all beings of the universe. OM Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

"You have come here for this reason only, to abide in your Self."


APAJI :  The abode of peace-consciousness-bliss is here. You are only required to have this firm conviction. As you are having a firm conviction that "I am the body" and "This is mine", if you have at least half of the conviction that "I am consciousness, I am peace", it is enough. So, how to do it?


I think there are six ways to attain freedom. What we speak of here is very direct and what is called "brahmavidya", direct awakening. There are other ways, such as pranayama, bhakti yoga, kundalini yoga, etc... All these methods are useful for attaining freedom. It's better to take the way that suits you best, so that you will be successful. Take the way that you like the best. What we mostly speak of here is a very direct way. It is direct awakening, which uses reasoning to arrive at Purusha – the unchanging absolute Truth, the one without a second.

Whatever changes is not real. Start first by taking your body, which is constantly changing – childhood, youth, adulthood, old age and finally death. It changes constantly. Then, the world is in constant change – earthquakes, cyclones, seasons... The world that was here a hundred years ago, or a thousand years ago, is no longer here. And the mind, too, changes constantly. Sometimes it is peaceful and sometimes it is restless. The states that you experience everyday are ever-changing, but we still have the firm conviction that what we see in the waking state is real. If the waking state is Reality, then it should not disappear in the dream state. And both the waking and dream states disappear in the sleep state, and then again, the sleep state disappears in the next waking state. So whatever changes is not the Truth, whatever alternates is not real. This is a fact.

In order for things to change there must be an unchanging, underlying substratum on which all changes take place. When you see a ceramic pot, instantly you are conscious of the earthen clay from which it is made. When you see a ring, instantly you are conscious of the gold, and you see the wood in the table. Like this, there must be some substratum which has taken a certain form and which has a certain name. So whatever changes, whatever you see, has an underlying substratum, and whatever you see must be external to you. You see the body, so the seer must be within the body. Also, all the objects you see are external to you; otherwise you would not be able to see them. A dream is external to you. Mountains, rivers, trees, animals and people are all external to you. In a dream you see many things but are not affected by them. Your body is sleeping and you are just watching whatever appears.

Now, find out what is changeless. All changes take place on That which is changeless, so to find That which never changes you must reject all that changes. Reject all concepts, all perceptions and all feelings. After you reject everything that changes you will be left with the unchangeable, which you can never reject. The unchangeable is eternal, omnipresent and is the permanent abode of existence-consciousness-bliss. It is true freedom. It can be attained instantly and it can also take a very long time. It all depends on how strongly you desire freedom. It is only your ego, your arrogance, that keeps you away from your Self.

In the past, kings have abandoned everything to go to the mountains to do penance, but this is just an avoidance of the Self. Things that trouble you in the palace will also trouble you in the mountains. So the best is to remain where you are. It makes no difference whether you are in a crowded place, at work, or at home. We have become experts in postponing. For 35 million years we have gained so much experience in avoiding the Self and now we must put an end to it. How? Stay still, stay quiet and watch what appears within your mind. Who perceives all that rises? Go to the Source, from where everything arises. That's all you have to do. Who stops you from realising your true Self? Arrogance! It is only the ego that prevents you from returning home to your Self. The body is your kingdom on which you are enthroned and your tendencies [vasanas] are your queens. So when you are ready, stay still and discover your true abode of rest, where you need not go anywhere nor do or think anything.

When you feel that you are the body, you conceal your Self. You are convinced that the body is who you are. You are completely blind to the place from where the thought, "I am the body" arises. You don't even see It because you have spent millions of years concealing It. Stop concealing your Self and be free.

If you are very determined to be free, once and for all, you have not to wait. Your true abode is within you, even nearer to you than your own breath. It is behind the retina of your eye. It is so near to you and yet for millions of years you have postponed returning home to freedom. Whose fault is this? No one else prevents you from discovering your Self, only you. You have been playing with illusory objects, like sand castles, for millions of years and have forgotten to return home. The tide is rising rapidly to wash away all forms, so why not return home right now? What is stopping you? You are on the beach busy playing with sand castles while your beloved Self is at home waiting for you.

Question: Papaji, I'm tired of postponing. Can you show me where my home is? I'm tired of playing and I want to return home. Please show me where it is.

Papaji: Excellent! [laughter] You ask me to show you the way, but first find out who called you home. Avoid anything that anyone tells you.

Question: [loud laughter]

Papaji: This has been your impediment until now; asking others to show you the way home. No one can show you. No teacher, no book is going to show you the way. The way is "no way". There is no way. You are always at home. "Way" is just the mind and it misleads everyone. You have nothing to do, not even a thought to think. It is so easy because you are always home. But you imagine, as in a dream, that you are somewhere else. Wake up, you are only dreaming!

Sages declare that freedom can be attained instantly, but in most cases all enquiry into the Self takes time to mature. Everything is in the enquiry and the enquiry has to be ripe before freedom is attained.

Even before the creation of the universe when there was nothing else but consciousness, a will to manifest the universe rose up from consciousness. That very will is responsible for all that you see now. Instantly, the whole universe was created by the will, "Let me be multiplied", and it was multiplied. Consciousness was transmitted into this will and this will is contained in this very instant. This will is in the whole of the manifestation, including all individuals. So what is this will which has created the universe and is responsible for everything? It is dwelling in the hearts of each being. This will to create everything has risen from consciousness and this same will can and will return to its Source. Although this will, this instant, this manifestation, this appearance rises from consciousness, it abides within consciousness for Eternity. But because there is another strong will within the mind to indulge in the illusion of bodily and worldly affairs, it is kept hidden. The result is that you become what you will and you see what you think.

We don't like to suffer because we have already seen eternal happiness, therefore we know that we can avoid suffering. So that will, which is the Source of all creation, is a very mature will when it wills to return home. It takes time for this will to rise up. When you stop thinking of other things apart from returning home, you will eventually return home. You have to be fully devoted to the Self, you have to honour the Self and you have to work for it in the beginning. Then you will finally attain eternal rest. It is all in your own hands.

You are unable to take rest, even while asleep, where you create yet another world within yourself. You are asleep in your apartment and dream of another world with mountains, rivers and people. You create a dream because you cannot keep quiet. When you dream, you think that you are a dreamer, and then you create your own creation from the thought-power. In the dream, this single will creates mountains, rivers and people within an instant. The whole world appears within the dream and you take it for real. All this is due to ego, due to darkness. Your mind is exhausted from subject-object transactions. Once you enquire into the Self, the Source, you will return to the Source and abide there in peace. This has to be willed. Then you will know that the dream and the dreamer are unreal.

The purpose of all this travelling that you have done so far is to finally have rest. You have to take rest after having come into this illusory world over and over again. Otherwise, what then is the purpose of all this? The illusory world will remain until you stop taking it to be real and stop running after it, like a mirage. So when the time is right, you will stop your mind from running and you will remain still and quiet. You have come here for this reason only, to abide in your Self. It is going to happen.

There is no barrier between you and freedom. There is no wall in front of you which blocks you. There can be no ignorance in Truth. Truth is Truth. There is no darkness in the sun. When you turn your back to the light and look towards darkness, whose fault is that? So, turn your mind towards consciousness and see what happens. Turn your mind towards its Source. When you dive into the ocean, what do you see around you? You see only water. Likewise, when you want to be free and you dive into consciousness, you see only consciousness. When you return home to the Source, you will know what is and what has been and you will be eternally happy.

If you are sincerely devoted to your Self, then attaining freedom is very easy. But if you allow your mind to move anywhere it wishes, then you are going to be troubled. The movement of the mind begins with the initial thought, "I am", which is unreal. In this one movement of thought, everything appears, and when this unreal thought is checked, everything disappears. If you do not check this "I am" thought, then it is not going to leave you. Seeing the Source of this thought, destroys it, because only the Source is real. Whenever you think of something, you conceal the Source. You only give importance to what is seen, to forms and notions. By checking all notions and all intentions in the mind, you will attain rest and peace. The Source is peace itself and is the final abode.

The enquiry into the movement of the mind is all that you need to do. It's enough. There is nothing beyond this. Strike at the root of the mind, at the root of thought. Thinking, the movement of the mind, sustains its own continuity and that of the ego unless it is checked. Through the enquiry into the source of thought, the enquirer gets consumed, until even the enquiry itself gets completely consumed by the Source, by Reality. And in the end, all that remains is Reality, that which you are, that which cannot be described. When you stop trying to understand, you are instantly free. When you reject all knowledge, you are instantly the Reality.

By transcending the three states of waking, dreaming and sleep you will discover the "fourth" state, which is called the "peaceful" state, where you can finally have peace. Very few people discover this pure state of existence, happiness and bliss. And beyond this "fourth" state there is yet another state which very rare ones discover. It is the final abode, and once It is discovered, there is no return back to darkness. Here ends the whole matter.

This is the substratum from where everything begins. It is omnipresent. This supreme conscious state is concealed when you hold onto any idea, any name or any form. The substratum is not an object of perception because it has no name and form. When you remove all names and forms from all that you see here and now, you are instantly That which is beyond the "fourth". It will appear by itself. It is already here and you have not to make any effort to gain It. It is already here, but you do not see It because you are otherwise engaged in your fantasies. Just give up all that you have heard, read and seen until now. Then tell me what remains? All the knowledge that you have acquired until now is only "hearsay". You have borrowed it from someone else and it is not your own true nature, your own true Self. Knowledge can never describe the Self, so reject it. It is not going to help you to discover your Self.

You give all your time to notions and forms and spend no time enquiring into the Source which you are concealing. It is the most subtlest place. It is so subtle that you cannot see it with your eyes, nor touch it with your hands. Only through the enquiry will you be able to reach It. Simply enquire into the nature of all that is seen, the nature of this universe. What is its origin? Its origin is none other than your own notion. Now find out what is the substratum of this notion, what is at the Source. Enquire: "What is the Source of this notion?" Simply look for the Source. This is the only way. Simply keep quiet and don't think. Let the enquirer get consumed by the enquiry, until it merges into Reality. Let even the enquiry itself get consumed by Reality.

For the last 35 million years you have never seen this moment of quietness because you have never been quiet. This quietness is your nature and is the substratum of everything that you see. You are able to see a star in the sky or your body because of the background of consciousness, quietness, which is the basis of all seeing. If you keep quiet, then only will you know that "I am that consciousness, I am that quietness." We can never have rest without This. When you enquire into the Source by remaining still and quiet, without trying to understand anything, you will discover that you have always been free. And you will laugh! You are so free that even trying to understand this freedom is too much effort. It is so free that no one has ever seen It before. This is freedom, wisdom, enlightenment, existence, consciousness, bliss, and yet It has no name. It is so empty that not even "Emptiness" can be used to describe It.

It is very important to enquire into this instant. Through the enquiry you will ignite. When you place camphor near a flame, how long will it take for it to burn? It will instantly burn. In the enquiry, you must be like camphor, ready to burn in the fire of freedom. The Guru's instruction is the fire and your heart must be like camphor, ready to ignite so that all your darkness is dispelled, once and for all. Instantly, the flame will consume 35 million years of darkness. It will burn this forest of ignorance. This is the power of the instruction, to dispel all ignorance by igniting your heart. Let this flame burn within your own heart.

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