Hi all,
I found this interesting video by David Godman presenting the teachings of Ramana Maharshi, in particular on self-inquiry. It lasts 42 minutes and should be of interest to some practitioners.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDVQC_uHRCI
One point missing from Yogani’s teaching is inner silence, cultivated through meditation, as a prerequisite for self-inquiry. David Godman seems to miss this, particularly when he talks about meditation at 38:07 of the video.
Enjoy!
Jac
Hi Jac,
Thanks for sharing, I practice self-inquiry AYP style mostly using the Jnana techniques found in the book “Liberation”
I think that Ramanashram was indeed imbue with inner silence, and David Godman shares that point by mentionning that inner silence was the number one teaching of Ramanashram (see segment starting at 10:00 of the video)
However as you stated, there is no mention of any practices taught to obtain inner silence, that leads me to beleive that he obtained inner silence early in life, perhaps being born with it or obtained automatically. He goes on to say that inner silence could be obtained just by sitting with a guru possessed by inner silence. I think that Ramana Maharshi knew the importance of inner silence, but infortunatly for his students he coudnt teach them how to obtain it. I dont want to diminish his legacy and I think that his teaching are great but lacking a bit, because self-inquiry is non-relational if it’s not done with the presence of inner silence.
But thanks for your post, it made me watch the video and learn about Ramana Maharshi.
Cheers
Hi alain,
I’m glad you enjoyed the video.
One small clarification: in the segment beginning at 10:00 of the video, David Godman doesn’t say that inner silence was Ramana Maharshi’s number one teaching, but he does say that Ramana said: “My highest teachings are the silent emanations that come off me.” So Ramana’s highest teachings were the silent emanations that come off him.
A little further on, David says: “The right frequency to receive the emanations of a jnani is inner quiet, inner silence.” This should suit AYP practitioners just fine!
To put this in a AYP perspective, it may be interesting to read Yogani’s lesson 146 on shaktipat :
https://www.aypsite.com/146.html
Jac
Hi Jac!
Agree
One of the first lessons in the Advanced Yoga Practices, the lesson that teaches meditation, is called “Meditation - Awakening the Silent Seed.” The “silent seed” refers to inner silence. Or just silence, as there is really no inner or outer.
In the lesson 150 on Samyama Practice, Yogani writes:
The only prerequisite for doing samyama practice is having some inner silence.
In the lesson 322 on Self-Inquiry, Yogani writes:
The primary aim of self-inquiry is to remain established in the unconditioned inner silence that resides within all of us, that is us.
Inner silence is cultivated through meditation in the AYP approach. One could also be introduced to inner silence in the presence of someone else who experiences it. Practicing in a group is another opportunity to recognize the inner silence, as the group amplifies any experience. From time to time, at the end of the practice, someone exclaims: “It is so quiet!” “It got so quiet here!”
As purification increases and the mind quiets down, one recognizes the deep inner silence in worship places, in places where other people practiced, and in some natural locations. Eventually, it becomes obvious that silent stillness in the fundament of everything, everywhere, all the time.
Hi all,
I think there is a translation issue here, translating from French to English?
I believe that Jac meant to say: “One point missing from David Godman’s video, which is found in Yogani’s teachings, is the importance of cultivating inner silence in meditation, before beginning self-inquiry practice”.
Hi all,
Yes, Christi, you’re right.
As my English isn’t very good, I write in French in DeepL and then copy/paste the translation from DeepL. There may be ambiguities in the translation from DeepL that I don’t detect. Sorry about that…
Jac, sorry about this misunderstanding.
Christi, thank you for the clarification.
Hi Blanche,
No problem. This will have clarified my initial post… 