Couplets From Mandukya!

Om Bhadram karnebhih s’rnuyāma devāh 
bhadram pasyemākṣhabhiryajatrāh 
sthirairangaistushtuvamsastanūbhir 
vyaśema devahitam yadāyuh 
svasti na indro vriddhaśravāh 
svasti nah pūṣhā Viśvavedāh 
svasti nastārkṣhyo ariṣhtanemih 
svasti no brihaspatirdadhātu 

Om śāntih; śāntih; śāntih

aum ity etad akṣaram idam sarvam, tasyopavyākhyānam 
bhūtam bhavad bhaviṣyad iti sarvam auṁkāra eva 
yac cānyat trikālātītaṁ tad apy auṁkāra eva. 

sarvaṁ hy etad brahma, ayam ātmā brahma, 

so’yam ātmā catuṣ-pāt. 

nāntaḥ-prajñam, na bahiṣ prajñam, nobhayataḥ-prajñam, 
na prajnañā-ghanam, na prajñam, nāprajñam; 
adṛṣtam, avyavahārayam, agrāhyam, alakṣaṇam, 
acintyam, avyapadeśyam, ekātma-pratyaya-sāram, 
prapañcopaśamam, śāntam, śivam, advaitam, 
caturtham manyante, sa ātmā, sa vijñeyaḥ

amātraś caturtho’vyavahāryaḥ prapañcopaśamaḥ 
sivo’dvaita evam auṁkāra ātmaiva, 
saṁviśaty ātmanā’tmānaṁ ya evaṁ veda ya evaṁ veda

Real Attainment

Maharshi said the real attainment was to be FULLY CONSCIOUS, to be aware of your surroundings and the people around, to move among them all, but not to merge your consciousness in the environment. Remain in your inner independent awareness of IT. That is the highest - not to sit in trance which merely halts the mind. The mind must be destroyed entirely, not merely arrested.

On Not Thinking:
D: But it is not easy to remain without thinking.
Maharshi: You need not cease thinking. Only think of the root of the thoughts; seek it and find it. The Self shines by itself. When that is found the thoughts cease of their own accord. That is freedom from bondage.

Deliverance

Bhagavan: “When you are asleep do you question whether you exist or not? It is only after you wake up that you say you exist. In the dream state also, the Self exists. There is really no such thing as a dead or a living body. That which does not move we call dead, and that which has movement we call alive. In dreams you see any number of bodies, living and dead, and they have no existence when you wake up. In the same way this whole world, animate and inanimate, is non-existent. Death means the dissolution of the ego, and birth means the rebirth of the ego. There are births and deaths, but they are of the ego; not of you. You exist whether the sense of ego is there or not. You are its source, but not the ego-sense. Deliverance (mukti) means finding the origin of these births and deaths and demolishing the ego-sense to its very roots. That is deliverance. It means death with full awareness. If one dies thus, one is born again simultaneously and in the same place with Aham sphurana known as ‘Aham, Aham (I, I)’. One who is born thus, has no doubts whatsoever.”

(From 'Letters from Sri Ramanasramam' 140)

Merging Into The Divine Self!

The Self is like a powerful magnet within us. It draws us gradually to Itself, though we imagine we are going to It of our own accord: when we are near enough, It puts and end to our activities, makes us still, and then swallows up our personal current, thus killing our wrong personality. It overwhelms the intellect and over floods the whole being. We think we are meditating upon It and developing towards It, whereas the truth is that we are iron filings and It is the Atman-magnet that is pulling us towards Itself. Thus the process of finding the Self is a form of Divine magnetism. 

Conscious Immortality., p 110

In direct knowing, you can feel yourself one with the One that exists. The whole body becomes a mere power, a force-current. Your life becomes a needle drawn to a huge mass of magnet; and, as you go deeper and deeper, you become a mere center and then not even that; for you become a mere consciousness. There are no thoughts or cares any longer, they were shattered at the threshold. It is an inundation. You are a mere straw, you are swallowed alive, but it is very delightful. For you become the very thing that swallows you. This is the union of the individual with the Absolute, self with Reality, the loss of ego in the real Self, the destruction of falsehood, the attainment of Truth.

Quintessence of Bhagvan's Teaching

Who am I?

Every living being longs to be happy, untainted by sorrow; and everyone has the greatest love for himself, which is solely due to the fact that happiness is his real nature. Hence, in order to realize that inherent and untainted happiness, which one experiences daily, when the mind is subdued in deep sleep, it is essential that he should know himself. For obtaining such knowledge the inquiry, ‘Who am I?’ in quest of the Self is the best means.

‘Who Am I?’ I am pure Awareness. This Awareness is by its very nature Being-Consciousness-Bliss (Sat-Chit-Ananda).

If the mind, which is the instrument of knowledge and is the basis of all activity, subsides, the perception of the world as an objective reality ceases. Unless the illusory perception of the serpent in the rope ceases, the rope on which the illusion is formed is not perceived as such. (This analogy is based on a traditional story of a man who sees a rope at twilight and mistaking it for a serpent is afraid without cause.) Similarly, unless the illusory nature of the perception of the world as an objective reality ceases, the vision of the true nature of the Self, on which the illusion is formed, is not obtained.

The mind is a wondrous power residing in the Self. It causes all thoughts to arise. Apart from thoughts, there is no such thing as mind. Therefore, thought is the nature of mind. Apart from thoughts, there is no independent entity called the world. In deep sleep there are no thoughts, and there is no world. In the states of waking and dream, there are thoughts, and there is a world also.

Just as the spider emits the thread (of the web) out of itself and again withdraws it into itself, likewise the mind projects the world out of itself and again resolves it into itself. When the mind leaves the Self, the world appears. Therefore, when the world appears, the Self does not appear; and when the Self appears (shines) the world does not appear.

When one persistently inquires into the nature of the mind, the mind will subside leaving the Self (as residue). The mind always exists only by depending on something gross (physical body); it cannot exist independently. It is the mind that is called the subtle body or the soul.

That which rises as ‘I’ in the body is the mind. If one inquires as to where in the body the thought ‘I’ rises first, one would discover that it rises in the Heart. That is the place of the mind’s origin. Even if one thinks constantly ‘I’, ‘I’, one will be led to that place. Of all the thoughts that arise in the mind, the ‘I’ thought is the first. It is only after the rise of the “I-thought” that other thoughts occur.

The thought ‘who am I?’ will destroy all other thoughts, and like the stick used for stirring the funeral pyre, it will itself be burnt up in the end. Then, there will be Self-realization. When other thoughts arise, one should not pursue them but should diligently inquire: ‘To whom do they occur?’ It does not matter how many thoughts arise. As each thought arises, one should inquire with alertness, “To whom has this thought arisen?” The answer that would emerge would be “to me”. Thereupon if one inquires “Who am I?” the mind will go back to its source; and the thought that arose will subside.

With repeated practice in this manner, the mind will develop the power to stay in its source. When the mind that is subtle goes out through the brain and the sense organs, the gross names and forms appear; when it stays in the heart, the names and forms disappear. Not letting the mind go out, but retaining it in the Heart is what is called “inwardness”. Letting the mind go out of the Heart is known as “externalisation”. Thus, when the mind stays in the Heart, the ‘I’ which is the source of all thoughts will go, and the Self which ever exists will shine.

Other than inquiry, there are no adequate means to make the mind permanently subside. If the mind is controlled through other means, it will appear to be controlled, but will rise again. Through regulation of breath, the mind will become calm; but it will remain calm only as long as the breath remains controlled. When the breath is no longer regulated, the mind will become active and start wandering.

Like the practice of breath-control, meditation on the forms of God, repetition of mantras, and restriction on diet, are temporary aids for stilling the mind. Through practice of meditation on the forms of God and through repetition of mantras, the mind attains one-pointedness. For such a focused mind self-inquiry will become easy. By observing diet-restriction, the quality of mind improves, which helps self-inquiry.

However sinful a person may be, if he would zealously carry on meditation on the Self, how would most assuredly get reformed.

The mind should not be allowed to wander towards worldly objects and what concerns other people.

However bad other people may be, one should bear no hatred for them.

All that one gives to others one gives to one’s self. If this truth is understood who will not give to others?

When one’s self arises all arises; when one’s self becomes calm all becomes calm.

To the extent we behave with humility, to that extent good will result.

If the mind becomes still, one may live anywhere.

What exists in truth is the Self alone. The world, the individual soul, and God are appearances in it like silver in mother-of-pearl. These three appear at the same time, and disappear at the same time. The Self is that where there is absolutely no “I” thought. That is called “Silence”. The Self itself is the world; the Self itself is “I”; the Self itself is God; all is Siva, the Self.

He who gives himself up to the Self that is God is the most excellent devotee. Giving one self up to God, means constantly remembering the Self. Whatever burdens are thrown on God, He bears them all. Since the supreme power of God makes all things move, why should we, without submitting ourselves to it, constantly worry ourselves with thoughts as to what should be done and how, and what should not be done and how not? We know that the train carries all loads, so after getting on it why should we carry our small luggage on our head to our discomfort, instead of putting it down in the train and feeling at ease?

Raam Baan - The Infalliable - Words of Grace!

JUST AS THE SPIDER DRAWS OUT THE THREAD OF THE COBWEB FROM WITHIN ITSELF AND WITHDRAWS IT AGAIN INTO ITSELF; IN THE SAME WAY THE MIND PROJECTS THE WORLD OUT OF ITSELF AND ABSORBS IT BACK INTO ITSELF

If the mind, which is the instrument of knowledge and is the basis of all activity, subsides, the perception of the world as an objective reality ceases. Unless the illusory perception of the serpent in the rope ceases, the rope on which the illusion is formed is not perceived as such. Similarly, unless the illusory nature of the perception of the world as an objective reality ceases, the vision of the true nature of the Self, on which the illusion is formed, is not obtained.

The mind is a unique power (sakti) in the Atman whereby thoughts occur to one. On scrutiny as to what remains after eliminating all thoughts, it will be found that there is no such thing as mind apart from thought. So then, thoughts themselves constitute the mind.

Nor is there any such thing as the physical world apart from and independent of thought. In deep sleep there are no thoughts: nor is there the world. In the wakeful and dream states thoughts are present, and there is also the world. Just as the spider draws out the thread of the cobweb from within itself and withdraws it again into itself, in the same way the mind projects the world out of itself and absorbs it back into itself.

The world is perceived as an apparent objective reality when the mind is externalized, thereby forsaking its identity with the Self. When the world is thus perceived, the true nature of the Self is not revealed: conversely, when the Self is realized, the world ceases to appear as an objective reality.

By a steady and continuous investigation into the nature of the mind, the mind is transformed into That to which the ‘I’ refers; and that is in fact the Self. Mind has necessarily to depend for its existence on something gross; it never subsists by itself. It is this mind that is otherwise called the subtle body, ego, jiva or soul.

That which arises in the physical body as ‘I’ is the mind. If one enquires whence the ‘I’ thought in the body arises in the first instance, it will be found that it is from hrdayam or the Heart. That is the source and stay of the mind. Or again, even if one merely continuously repeats to oneself inwardly ‘I-I’ with the entire mind fixed thereon, that also leads one to the same source.

The first and foremost of all the thoughts that arise in the mind is the primal ‘I’-thought. It is only after the rise or origin of the ‘I’-thought that innumerable other thoughts arise. In other words, only after the first personal pronoun, ‘I’, has arisen,do the second and third personal pronouns (‘you, he’, etc.) occur to the mind; and they cannot subsist without the former.

Since every other thought can occur only after the rise of the ‘I’-thought and since the mind is nothing but a bundle of thoughts, it is only through the enquiry ‘Who am I?’ that the mind subsides. Moreover, the integral ‘I’-thought, implicit in such enquiry, having destroyed all other thoughts, is itself finally destroyed or consumed, just as the stick used for stirring the burning funeral pyre is consumed.

Even when extraneous thoughts sprout up during such enquiry, do not seek to complete the rising thought but instead,deeply enquire within, ‘To whom has this thought occurred?’

No matter how many thoughts thus occur to you, if you would with acute vigilance enquire immediately as and when each individual thought arises to whom it has occurred, you would find it is to ‘me’. If then you enquire ‘Who am I?’ the mind gets introverted and the rising thought also subsides. In this manner as you persevere more and more in the practice of Self-enquiry, the mind acquires increasing strength and power to abide in its Source.

It is only when the subtle mind is externalized through the activity of the intellect and the sense-organs that gross name and form constituting the world appear. When, on the other hand, the mind stays firmly in the Heart, they recede and disappear. Restraint of the out-going mind and its absorption in the Heart is known as introversion (antarmukha-drishti).The release of the mind and its emergence from the Heart is known as extroversion (bahirmukha-drishti).If in this manner the mind becomes absorbed in the Heart,the ego or ‘I’, which is the centre of the multitude of thoughts,finally vanishes and pure Consciousness or Self, which subsists during all the states of the mind, alone remains resplendent. It is this state, where there is not the slightest trace of the ‘I’-thought, that is the true Being of oneself. And that is called Quiescence or Mouna (Silence).
This state of mere inherence in pure Being is known as the Vision of Wisdom. Such inherence means and implies the entire subsidence of the mind in the Self. Nothing other than this and no psychic powers of the mind, such as thought reading,telepathy and clairvoyance, can be Wisdom.
Atman alone exists and is real. The threefold reality of world, individual soul, and God is, like the illusory appearance of silver in the mother of pearl, an imaginary creation in the Atman. They appear and disappear simultaneously. The Self alone is the world, the ‘I’ and God. All that exists is but the manifestation of the Supreme.

For the subsidence of mind there is no other means more effective and adequate than Self-enquiry. Even though by other means the mind subsides, that is only apparently so; it will rise again.

- Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, 'Words of Grace'

Discourse between Jnaneswar and His Father

With respect and childlike affection Jnaneswar climbed onto the lap of his father and requested him to return to the capital and meet the king. The following dialogue ensued.

Father: Does one taste again what has been vomited once, even if it is some delicious dish? Should not the righteous ever stick to their word? Having retired from the world, can I go back there, mix with the undiscerning crowd and love them or adore the king? The forest shall ever be my abode and the world, yours. So go back and live happily in the world.

Jnaneswar: Why do you live in the forest?

Father: My son, what profit or pleasure is there hereafter for me to obtain by going back to the world? Going back there, far from being an aid, will only be a hindrance to salvation. This forest, free from the society of all people, is alone fit for mouna nishta (silent faith) and hence I live on these slopes.

Jnaneswar: The Brahmanishta (devotion to Self) that you are doing, while still full of such distinctions as city and forest, is like one trying to shut out a vision of the heavens by covering it with a canvas instead of closing one's eyes; like a small bird thinking to bear the impact of thunder with its tiny feet; like one trying to acquire virtue while engaging in acts of vice; like a hardhearted man yearning for the sight of God, and like one achieving jnana nishta (firm faith with knowledge) without getting rid of the ego sense. In that nishta, which transcends all distinctions, can there be any idea of duality?

Father: So long as the notion "mine" persists, the ego sense and perception of duality as "this and that" will not disappear. It is nirvikalpa nishta (single devotion) that drives away all notions of duality. Such nishta can be obtained only by freedom from all sankalpas or desires and freedom from all society. So I am here because the forest solitude is the proper place for mouna nishta.

Jnaneswar: Knowing one's Self and being that Self alone is Brahmanishta, and not living in forests.

Father: Even though one may know the Self in the presence of one's Guru, is it not necessary to stay in solitude to remain fixed in that Self?

Jnaneswar: True jnanis realized that ajnana (error) will not be destroyed, nor the sense of 'I' and 'mine' be got rid of by living alone in a forest and doing penance, and therefore practiced nirvikalpa samadhi, with a firm mind, ignoring all such distinctions as city and forest, home life and asceticism. If that is so, why should you oppose home life and live in this forest?

Father: If those who have seen the sakshi (witness) and become one with the Self, who is the witness of all, remain in family life, it will hamper their practice of samadhi, and they will lose their experience of realization of the Self. Therefore, those who have attained the bliss of the sahaja (spontaneous) state will not entertain, even in a dream, the desire to engage in family life.

Jnaneswar: Sahaja nishta (spontaneous realization) consists in being free, both from desires and aversions. Can hating the town and loving the forest be such nishta?

Father: How can one carry on with the affairs of the world who has no desires either to do or not to do? And what is the use of living in the world if one is not fit to engage in the affairs of the world? One should not at all remain in a place where one would be a prey to many difficulties arising from the desire to cater to the comforts of this body. Such catering can be compared to celebrating the marriage of a corpse.

Jnaneswar: If one who has given up all desires to engage in any activity, engages in the practice of samadhi, is not that practice also an activity, and why should not he who has this occupation have also the activity of the family?

Father: Even if samadhi is an activity, it will remove all thoughts and anxieties. On the other hand, domestic business will create all kinds of thoughts and worries and cause grief always.

Jnaneswar: When one is Sat Chit Ananda (three fold Self) himself, why should one engage in nishta sadhana (practice with faith)?

Father: Do not the wise say that Brahmanishta (devotion to Self) consists in realizing while awake, the sleep state? If we don't so realize, can irresistible bliss flow from samadhi?

Jnaneswar: While the Vedas say that proper bliss consists in watching like a spectator the diversions of the senses during the waking state, the activities of the mind during dream and the state of nothingness or blank during sleep, and that the state described as sleep during waking consists in being like a kite's shadow (which while touching anything is not attached to it), can you imagine that to be in a blank state as during sleep is real bliss, and that it is the state called sleep during waking?

Father: Waking and dream conditions will plunge one into the affairs of the world and render one a prey to the wild beasts of sense organs. Hence, only that samadhi where all affairs of the world cease and where there is total void as during sleep, is the proper samadhi.

Jnaneswar: The best samadhi is not to be a mere blank but, like meeting blow with blow, to engage in the affairs of the world and check the sense objects and be indifferent to them by opposing them with the sword of steady jnana (realization of unity), like Janaka.

Father: Only Suka, who got rid of all attachments, was able to conquer the monkeyish mind, which had accumulated within it many vasanas (deep set desires) during countless generations, and not Janaka, who, without being in the sleep-like state, had steady jnana that he was Brahman.

Jnaneswar: Only Janaka secured annihilation of mind and was able to do what he pleased with his mind, and not Suka who gave up all external attachments and betook himself entirely to life in forests.

Father: It is only by inhering in the Seer that one can get rid of the seen. How can one get rid of the seen by being in the seen? If to cure a man of poison, poison is administered to him, will not death be the result?

Jnaneswar: As we administer one poison as an antidote against another poison, he alone is wise, who establishes imperturbable jnana against the dangers of the sense organs, both external and internal, and not he who is always in nishta filled with fear lest at any time the wild beasts of sense objects should come and attack him. This latter will realize only his fear and never the supreme bliss of Brahman.

Father: What would not the sense objects do to one in family life, when they are capable of subjecting to grief even those who have become ascetics and are always absorbed in nishta samadhi? Can a dried leaf that has fallen into a turbulent flood keep still in one place?

Jnaneswar: The sense organs will bring down one who has not attained firm jnana, however long he may remain introverted, and cause him grief. Like a big rock that has fallen into a flood and remains there unmoved, one must remain unmoved, however numerous be the sense activities that come to one, and whatever be the unbearable grief they cause. It is only such a one that can experience the bliss of Brahman. The ignorance of one that is not steadily fixed in jnana will never disappear.

Father: However steady one may be fixed in jnana, he is sure to be engulfed in the darkness of maya (worldly illusion) unless he is always absorbed in meditation of Brahman, giving up all society.

Jnaneswar: It is only if there is such a thing as maya apart from Brahman, one would have to get rid of it by being always in nishta. Like saying "one's shadow will fight with one," you have pointed to a nonexistent avidya and an ego and declared that we must always be in nishta. As the only result of fighting with an unreal shadow will be exhaustion, you will have only endless trouble if you don't stay quiet in mauna (silence), realizing the unreality of maya, but go on eliminating, saying, 'Not this, not this'.

Father: How is one to attain sahaja jnana (spontaneous knowledge) without eliminating the unreal, becoming one-pointed in mind, and remaining a mere sakshi (witness), unmoved by all that takes place.

Jnaneswar: The more we eliminate the unreal things as "not this, not this," the more sense objects will go on appearing, like winged white ants that swarm out from an ant hill. The more we try to make the mind one-pointed, the more will the mind get disturbed like a repressed ball rebounding. The more you remain a sakshi, the more will the delusion "I am the body," etc., assert itself like the curly tail of the dog resuming its bent shape, however much we try to keep it straight. So it is the majestic bliss of Brahman to realize by the jnana (realization) of enquiry, that one is himself Brahman, and avidya, alias ego, and maya, alias unreality, are entirely illusory like the appearance of silver in the mother of pearl.

Father: Is it possible to conquer the grief-causing sense objects and to become one with the all-pervading blissful Self by not doing any other sadhana but merely realizing as the result of jnana vichara that one is himself Brahman?

Jnaneswar: If even a live cow cannot kill a tiger, can a dead cow do so? Similarly, what can the sense objects do to the Self, which is eternal, free from all defects, which extends everywhere and is of the nature of bliss? As even a fat cow will be afraid to face a tiger, sense objects will not dare to come before a jnani, who by steady jnana has attained perfection. But even if they do, they will be extinguished, as the cow by the tiger.

Father: What if the jnani (he who knows), by mixing with ajnanis (the ignorant) should get entangled in sense objects, yield to disturbances of the mind and become entirely sorrow stricken, like a chaste woman becoming unchaste by mixing with prostitutes?

Jnaneswar: The steadfast chaste woman will maintain her chastity in spite of the company of any number of prostitutes. The unsteady one will find occasion for erring even without any evil company. Similarly, the firm jnani will never lose his perfect realization though surrounded by any number of ajnanis (erring ones). The unsteady one will lose his jnana, even when in solitude.

Father: How can one become a sahaja jnani (one who has spontaneously realized) if engaged in domestic affairs?

Jnaneswar: Though the jnani (sage) mixes with ajnanis and acts many parts with them, he will ever remain the experiencer of the supreme bliss, just as a brahmin though acting the part of a scavenger on the stage, and behaving accordingly, ever remains only a brahmin without becoming a scavenger.

Father: However firm the jnana or the spiritual insight of a man may be, unless he contemplates at least for some time every day that he is Brahman, it is very difficult for him to become a Brahma jnani.

Jnaneswar: Is it necessary for the brahmin, who is acting the part of a scavenger, to frequently think that he is a brahmin? Will he become a scavenger if he does not think so? Are sacred strings necessary to distinguish one, whom the entire world knows to be a brahmin? After the annihilation of the ego, "I", should one still retain the knot of the ego consciousness and go on meditating "I am Brahman" ?  As the world-known brahmin is adored as a brahmin by everybody, even when he does not wear sacred strings, one who has renounced notions of "I" and "mine" will always be respected by all and will always be enjoying the supreme bliss of Self, even if he does not practice any meditation.

Father: Even if one is equal to Jagadish (the Almighty), if one does not daily practice the meditation "I am Brahman," he will undoubtedly become an ajnani. The ego sense, which identifies one with body, etc., will never vanish.

Jnaneswar: If one holds the light in his hands and asks darkness to remain, will it remain? Similarly, if, after vanquishing the ignorance that one is the body or its internal organs, after one has attained the knowledge that one is the Supreme itself, will ajnana remain even if it is bidden to remain? If one holds the cat in one's hand and asks the parrot to talk, will it talk? After realizing that self, Iswara and the world, etc. are all unreal, will maya come, even if it is invited? The eunuch will stand ashamed to declare himself a man before a woman who knows his impotence. Similarly, to one who has recognized beyond all doubt, in the presence of his Guru, that Brahman alone is real while maya is unreal, that Brahman is transcendent of all thoughts while maya consists of desires and aversions, and that one is Brahman and Brahman is one's Self, where is the desire or aversion, bondage or freedom, birth or death, country or forest, charity, penance, renunciation or family life? Can the power of maya avail even a bit against one who is in the world, like the eye of a dead sheep (which seems as if it can see while it does not)? Can it turn him again into ajnana (error)? Please consider deeply.

Thereupon Vithoba agreed to leave the forest and return home.

Who Am "I"?

This is the most auspicious question arising in the "mind" of an living being.

The "feeling of existence", "sense of individuality", or "I" without which an individual does NOT exist, is the key to "FREEDOM".

It is for the sake of this "I", one does everything - but never questions "what is this I?" or "Who is the I who wants anything or everything?".

As long as one is identified with "I" as the body, one is bound.

All knowledge and efforts should lead one to ask this beautiful and fundamental question: "Who Am I?" or "What is the truth about I?"

Quest For Truth

Everything that is changing cannot be the truth - simply because it is impermanent.

That which is non-changing or with a changeless or possessing the property of permanence alone can be the truth.

SO, look around the entire universe - what is it that possesses such a property?

It should be easy to infer that everything in the universe is continuously changing - whatever it may be.

As you slowly infer the above, it should also become clear that "I" or the "sense of presence" within seems to be the possessing the same property of giving a "sense of existence" from birth to death of the body.

You may argue that the "I" is also changing - example the "I" during waking state dissolves during sleep or the "I" during dream disappears during waking. That is the NOT the "I" being referred to here.

There is a "sense of existence" that "KNOWS" or "IS AWARE OF" all the 3 states of existence (waking, dream and deep sleep). It simply knows that "you" exist during all these 3 states and experience all the 3 states.

That is the "I" being referred to here.

This must be contemplated, digested and assimilated completely before proceeding further. Otherwise, the result won't bear fruit.

Stay As "I AM"

The primary aim is to fix the mind in the Heart at the feet of the Lord shining as the Self and never to forget Him. ~ Sri Ramana

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Annamalaiswami : I should, perhaps, always try to think : " I am That ".

Sri Bhagavan : Why should one think " I am That " ? He is That only. Does a man go on thinking that he is a man ?

Mr.Anantachari : The belief " I am a man " is so deep that we cannot help thinking so.

Sri Bhagavan : Why should you think " I am a man " ? If you are challenged, you may say, "I am a man". Therefore,the thought-"I am a man " - is called up when another thought, say, "I am an animal", protrudes itself. Similarly, the thought " I am That " is necessary only so long as the other thought " I am a man ", persists.

D.: The thought " I am a man " is so natural.

Sri Bhagavan : Not so. On the other hand, " I AM " is natural. Why do you qaulify it with " a man " ?

D.: "I am a man " is so obvious, whereas " I am That " is not understood by us.

Sri Bhagavan : You are neither "That " nor "This ". The truth is " I AM ". " I AM THAT I AM " according to the BIBLE also. Mere " Being " is alone natural. To limit it to " being a man " is uncalled for.

D.: (Humorously) If vote be taken, the majority will be on my side (Laughter).

Sri Bhagavan : I cast my vote also on your side (Laughter). I say also, " I am a man " ; but, I am not limited to the body. It is in " ME ". That is the difference.

D.: The limitation ( upadhi ) of being a man, cannot be got rid of.

Sri Bhagavan : How were you in deep sleep ? There was no thought of being a man.

D.: So, the state of deep sleep must be brought about even when one is awake.

Sri Bhagavan : It is jagrat--sushupti.

Some people even say that while they sleep they are enclosed somewhere in the body. They forget that such an idea did not persist in deep sleep, but rises up only on waking. They bring their waking--state to bear upon their deep sleep.

(The lights went down and all retired.)

-- from " TALKS WITH SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI ", pp.555--56

Simply Be-Ing!

For those who live in Self as the beauty devoid of thought, There is nothing which should be thought of. That which should be adhered to is only the experience of silence, because in that supreme state nothing exists to be attained other than oneself. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

Realize your pure Be-ing. Let there be no confusion with the body. The body is the result of thoughts. The thoughts will play as usual, but you will not be affected. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

The Self is only Being, not being this or that. It is simple Being. ~ Sri Ramana Maharshi

Know that the mind which illumines the illusory world is [a mere reflected light] like the glittering mirror-light, reflecting the bright sunlight.

The powerful One who [always] clings to the reality will never be afraid, due to mental delusion, of anything at all.

It is by God's Grace that you think of God (Sri Ramana).

We are always the SELF.  Only, we don't realise it.

How to see God? To see Him is to be consumed by Him (Sri Ramana).

Know that the nature of Brahma-swarupa, which is [one] without another [i.e. which is non-dual is the ancient glory. Though that ancient swarupa [Self or Brahman] appears to be like a void [sunya] it is not a void; [it is] the one single existence-consciousness [sat-chit], which is the whole reality itself. (GURU VACHAKA KOVAI 1055)

ATMA VICHARA

The mind should discontinue its habit of perpetually moving outwards in an unlimited way, pointlessly enquiring ‘Who are you?’ and ‘Who is he?’ It should turn within, holding itself as the object [of attention] and without interruption zealously enquire ‘Who am I?’ This alone will confer the ultimate benefit.
Guru Vachaka Kovai v 384

When one unceasingly enquires ‘Who am I?’ with an acute intellect, the body-ego completely perishes through the attention that penetrates to the centre of oneself. There, reality will rise and flourish as ‘I-I’, terminating the differences that, like the azure blue of the sky, are mere appearances.
Guru Vachaka Kovai v 385

By means of the question, ‘Who is the one who questions?, all the questions that one asks, which arise through duality, will die at their very source. That question, ‘Who is the questioner?’, becoming the invincible Brahmastram, will obliterate the appearance of ‘otherness’ that manifests in the darkness of ignorance.
Guru Vachaka Kovai v386

SELF-REMEMBRANCE

Since consciousness is all pervasive, nothing can arise from within it and then become separate from it. The idea of a separate jiva is therefore just an erroneous idea that arises through ignorance.

Giving up your identification with the body if you would remain quietly absorbed in the sense of the Totality – in the “I AM” – without attachment, you will know all that is to be known. When you thus remain immersed in Consciousness, the personal, identified consciousness having lost the power of maya, will itself take you to its Source, which is what you Are – Reality.

The world does not exist without the body; the body never at any time exists without the mind; the mind does not exist at all apart from consciousness; and consciousness too does not exist apart from being.

Hold on to the sense of “I AM” to the exclusion of everything else. The mind being thus silent, will shine with a new light and vibrate in the Totality. When you keep “I AM” feeling in the focus of awareness and watch yourself ceaselessly – when there is continuous witnessing of all movements in Consciousness – the conscious and the unconscious will for a time play the game of hide and seek until finally the two become one and the one becomes the Totality. The individual then merges in the witness, the witness in pure Being.

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Remembering the Self, one’s real nature, without faltering even slightly, is the eminent victory of true jnana.

With your consciousness hold fast to and never abandon the substratum, your real nature, the Supreme that can neither be held nor relinquished.

Is the Self something far away that you have to touch? The higher Self exists as one but it is only your thoughts that make you feel it is not. You can neither think about it nor forget it.

Other than the thought of the Self, any other thought you ay associate with, is a mere mental construct, foreign to that Self. 

Thinking of the Self is to abide as that tranquil consciousness. Padam, the true swarupa, can neither be remembered nor forgotten.

The Self is self-luminous without darkness and light, and is the reality which is self-manifest. Therefore, one should not think of it as this or that. All such thoughts would only end in bondage. The purport of meditation on the Self is to make the mind take the ‘form’ of the Self. In the middle of the heart-cave is the pure Brahman directly manifest as the Self in the form of ‘I-I’. Can there be greater ignorance than to think of It in manifold ways, without knowing it as aforementioned?

-Padamalai

Gems From Bhagwan Sri Ramana Maharshi

1. This is suitable only for ripe souls. The rest should follow different methods according to the state of their minds.
2. To all deep-thinking minds, the enquiry about the “I” and its nature has an irresistible fascination. Where the “I” merges, another entity emerges as “I” - “I” of its own accord. That is the perfect Self. The duality of subject and object and trinity of seer, sight, and seen can exist only if supported by the One. If one turns inward in search of that One Reality they fall away. Those who see this are those who see Wisdom – No more in doubt.
3. The ignorance is identical with the “I”-thought. Find its source and it will vanish. That which rises in this body as “I” is the mind. Thoughts alone constitute the mind; and for all thoughts the base or source is the “I” thought. “I” is the mind.
4. When other thoughts arise, one should not pursue them, but should inquire: “To whom do they arise?” It does not matter how many thoughts arise. As each thought arises, one should inquire with diligence, "To whom has this thought arisen?" The answer that would emerge would be "To me." Thereupon if one inquires "Who am I?,” the mind will go back to its source; and the thought that arose will become quiescent. With repeated practice in this manner, the mind will develop the skill to stay in its source. Once the effort ceases, the state becomes natural and the Supreme takes possession of the person with an unbroken current. Until it has become permanently natural and your habitual state, know that you have not realized the Self, only glimpsed it.
5. We are ever in sushupti. Becoming aware of it in jagrat is samadhi. Aham vritti (I-thought) is broken, Aham sphurana (the “I-I”) is unbroken, continuous. The ajnani cannot remain long in sushupti because his ego pushes him out of it. The Jnani, although he has scorched the ego, it continues to rise again and again due to prarabdha. So, for both the Jnani and the ajnani the ego springs up, but with this difference: whereas the Jnani enjoys the transcendental experience, keeping its lakshya (aim, attention) always fixed on its source, … the ajnani is completely ignorant of it. The former is not harmful, being a mere skeleton of its normal self, like a burnt-up rope. By constantly fixing its attention on the Source, the Heart, the ego gets dissolved into it like a salt doll which has fallen into the ocean.
6. The “I” casts off the illusion of “I” and yet remains as “I”. The I-I Consciousness is a prelude to Self-Realization: when it becomes permanent (Sahaja), it is Self-Realization, Liberation. Knowing the Self is being the Self. To know the Self is to be the Self – as there are not two separate selves. This (state) is thanmaya nishta (abiding as That).
7. Before one becomes established in the Self without any breaks, without any changes, one has to contact and enjoy the Self many times. By steady meditation and the continued practice of self-inquiry, one will finally become permanently established in the Self, without any breaks.
8. A person can still carry on with the ordinary day to day business but he does not identify himself with the activities, but watches them like a dreamer watching a dream. There is no more to do, and no more to be attained. This is the Supreme State of Absolute Bliss. In the words of Bhagavan, it is the SELF and it can be realized by one and all by Self-enquiry.
9. The Self is that where there is absolutely no “I”-thought. That is called “Silence.” The Self itself is the world; the Self itself is “I”; the Self itself is God; all is Siva, the Self. Undifferentiated consciousness is the only true reality. The word “Aham “ is itself very suggestive. The two letters of the word, namely (A) and (HA), are the first and the last letters of the Sanskrit alphabet. The suggestion intended to be conveyed by the word is that it comprises all. How? Because Aham signifies existence itself.

Gems From Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

1. The ‘I am’ came first, it’s ever present, ever available, refuse all thoughts except ‘I am’, stay there. You are sure of the ‘I am’, it’s the totality of being, remember ‘I am’ and it’s enough to heal your mind and take you beyond. Hold on to the ‘I am’ to the exclusion of everything else, the ‘I am’ in movement creates the world, the ‘I am’ at peace becomes the Absolute. 
2. Immortality is freedom from the feeling ‘I am’, to have that freedom remain in the sense ‘I am’, it’s simple, it’s crude, yet it works! The ‘I am’ is the sum total of all that you perceive, it’s time bound, the ‘I am’ itself is an illusion, you are not the ‘I am’ you are prior to it. The knowledge “I Am” has spontaneously appeared on your Absolute state; therefore it is an illusion. The feeling “I Am” is itself an illusion, therefore whatever is seen through this illusion cannot be real.
3. The ‘I am’ is your greatest foe and greatest friend, foe when binding to the illusion as body, friend when taking out of the illusion as body. The beginning and the end of knowledge is the ‘I am’, be attentive to the ‘I am’, once you understand it, you are apart from it. The ‘I am’ concept is the last out post of the illusion, hold on to it, stabilize in the ‘I am’, then you are no more an individual. As long as we imagine ourselves to be separate personalities, one quite apart from another, we cannot grasp reality, which is essentially impersonal. First we must know ourselves as witnesses only, dimensionless and timeless centres of observation, and then realize that immense ocean of pure awareness, which is both mind and matter and beyond both.
4. Only be the ‘I am’, just be, the ‘I am’ has appeared on your homogenous state, the one free of the ‘I am’ is liberated, you are prior to the ‘I am’. Remain focused on the ‘I am’ till it goes into oblivion, then the eternal is, Absolute is, Parabrahman is. 
5. Prior to birth where was the ‘I am’? Don’t contaminate the ‘I am’ with the body idea, “I” as the Absolute “Am”; not the ‘I am’. Understand that the knowledge ‘I am’ has dawned on you and all are its manifestations, in this understanding you realize you are not the ‘I am’. When this concept ‘I am’ departs there would be no memory left that ‘I was’ and ‘I had’ those experiences, the very memory will be erased. 
6. Out of the nothingness, the ‘I am’ or beingness has come, there is no individual, the knowledge ‘I am’ not the individual – has to go back to its source. Go on to know the ‘I am’ without words, you must be that and not deviate from it for even a moment, and then it would disappear. 
7. Just sit and know that “you are” the “I Am” without words, nothing else has to be done; shortly you will arrive to your natural Absolute state. What is it in you that understands this knowledge “I Am” without a name, title or word? Sink in that innermost center and witness the knowledge “I Am”. Sitting quietly, being one with the knowledge ‘I am’, you would lose all concern with the world, then the ‘I am’ would also go, leaving you as the Absolute. The core of this consciousness is the quality ‘I am’, there is no personality or individual there, reside there and transcend it.
8. Limit your interests and activities to what is needed for you and your dependents' barest needs. Save all your energies and time for breaking the wall your mind had built around you. The dissolution of personality is followed always by a sense of great relief, as if a heavy burden has fallen off. Every existence is my existence, every consciousness is my consciousness, every sorrow is my sorrow and every joy is my joy - this is universal life. You will see the world as a show, the most entertaining show indeed.
9. Be friendly with your undifferentiated state, your true Self. There was never any division, but you are under the delusion that you are not one with it. You are never bound by body and mind. You are limitless. You, the Absolute are aloof, you are beyond any experience. In the absence of the basic concept 'I am' there is no thought, there is no consciousness. Consciousness is a great fraud; it is the cause of all suffering.