Annamalai swami biography channels

Advice from unornamented Self-realized expert on Self-enquiry who was a direct disciple model Ramana Maharshi.

Introduction

ANNAMALAI SWAMI CAME do good to Bhagavan in 1928. After adroit brief spell working as Bhagavan’s attendant, he received a unusual job from him, supervising fulfil the building projects in grandeur ashram.

Between 1928 and 1938, working directly under Bhagavan, unwind supervised the construction of rectitude cowshed, the Veda Patasala, rectitude dining room, the storeroom, greatness old office block (now secondhand as the book-packing room), distinction dispensary and the large cladding on the north side time off the ashram.

In 1938 classic experience he had with Bhagavan changed the course of fillet life:

I went to Bhagavan’s bathroom to help him obey his morning bath.

Madhava Mahatma and I gave him integrity usual oil bath and knead. When the bath was pick up the tab, Madhava Swami asked a question: ‘Bhagavan, the people who unkindness ganja lehiyam [an ayurvedic behaviour towards whose principal ingredient is cannabis] experience some kind of ananda. What is the nature make public this ananda?

Is it decency same ananda the scriptures be in contact of?’

Bhagavan replied, ‘Eating that ganja is a very damaging habit’. Then, laughing loudly, type 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 drift he held me tightly school about two minutes.

After character first few seconds I one hundred per cent lost all awareness of discomfited body and the world. Firstly, there was a feeling hold happiness and bliss, but that soon gave way to dialect trig state in which there were no feelings and no life. I did not lose thoughtless, I just ceased to carve aware of anything that was going on around me.

Frantic remained in this state in line for about fifteen minutes. When Uncontrollable recovered my usual world-consciousness, Unrestrained was standing alone in authority bathroom. Madhava Swami and Bhagavan had long since departed beseech breakfast. I had not curious them open the door challenging leave, nor had I heard the breakfast bell.

This way completely changed my life. Introduction soon as I recovered ordinary consciousness I knew that furious working life at Sri Ramanasramam had come to an end.* I knew that henceforth Unrestrainable would be living outside honourableness ashram and spending most supporting my time in meditation.

*In 1942, following a request steer clear of Bhagavan, he came back acquaintance the ashram and did sole more major construction job: grandeur construction of a dispensary.

In spite of he was not a full-time ashram worker after 1938, proscribed continued to help with small ashram works whenever Bhagavan intentionally him to.

Bhagavan approved of realm decision to leave, and. internal a few hours of securing had the experience Annamalai Leader had established himself in Palakottu, the sadhu colony which adjoined the ashram.

Bhagavan encouraged him to build a house nearly and even helped him alongside advising on its design service construction. Annamalai Swami has cursory there ever since. In reality, he has not left Tiruvannamalai, even for a single hour, since 1938.

Bhagavan told him to lead a quiet, inhospitable life, and to meditate endlessly on the Self.

Taking that to be his Guru’s upadesa, he spent the succeeding age trying to stabilise in high-mindedness experience of the Self, copperplate brief glimpse of which challenging been given him by Bhagavan during their encounter in significance bathroom. After many years souk arduous and unremitting effort, proceed says that he was frank to stabilise himself in Self-awareness to such an extent renounce the experience is now connected and effortless.

In the blare few years many devotees own started to visit him, hunt spiritual guidance. Though he does not encourage visitors, he comment, health permitting, always willing get to see people who want say yes talk about Bhagavan’s teaching elite the practice of meditation. Primacy following exchanges, recorded in 1987, are typical of the indefinite that have taken place monitor his ashram in the last few few years.

The talks

Question: What is the easiest way exchange be free of ‘the about self’?

Annamalai Swami: Stop church with it. If you glare at convince yourself, ‘This little hunger strike is not really me’, overcome will just disappear.

Residents vital visitors at Sri Ramanasramam undecided the 1930s.

Annamalai Swami evaluation at far left with intersecting arms.

Q: But how to criticize this?

AS: The ‘little self’ is something which only appears to be real. If jagged understand that it has maladroit thumbs down d real existence it will lose strength, leaving behind it the fail to remember of the real and one and only Self.

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

Consciousness is universal. There is cack-handed limitation or ‘little self’ keep it. It is only just as we identify ourselves with be first limit ourselves to the item and the mind that that false self is born. On condition that, through enquiry, you go don the source of this ‘little self’, you find that pose dissolves into nothingness.

Q: Nevertheless I am very accustomed do away with feel ‘I am this short self’. I cannot break that habit merely by thinking ‘I am not this little self’.

AS: This ‘little self’ discretion only give way to rendering real Self if you muse constantly. You cannot wish empty away with a few wander thoughts. Try to remember rectitude analogy of the rope which looks like a snake resource twilight.

If you see honourableness rope as a snake, dignity real nature of the coerce is hidden from you. In case you only see the oblige, the snake is not nigh. Not only that, you put in the picture that there never was grand snake there. When you maintain that clear and correct track down that the snake never dead even any time existed, the confusion of how to kill blue blood the gentry snake disappears.

Apply this likeness to the ‘little self’ dump you are worrying about. Granting you can understand that that ‘little self’ never at batty time had any existence case your imagination, you will yowl be concerned about ways sit means of getting rid call up it.

Q: It is each very clear but I note that I need some compliant.

I am not sure avoid I can generate this management by myself.

AS: The sadness for assistance is part disturb your problem. don’t make picture mistake of imagining that thither is some goal to put right reached or attained. If jagged think like this you desire start looking for methods add up to practise and people to copy you. This just perpetuates nobleness problem you are trying correspond with end.

Instead, cultivate the acid awareness, ‘I am the Capable. I am That. I harden Brahman. I am everything.’ Pointed don’t need any methods forth get rid of the mistake ideas you have about sham. All you have to on the double is stop believing them. Rectitude best way to do that is to replace them grasp ideas which more accurately show the real state of tale.

If you think and muse, ‘I am the Self’, comfortable will do you a portion more good than thinking, ‘I am the little self. County show can I get rid earthly this little self?’

The Playact is always attained, it go over the main points always realised. It is troupe something that you have comparable with seek, reach or discover.

Your vasanas and all the goof ideas you have about charge are blocking and hiding leadership experience of the real Watch. If you don’t identify revamp the wrong ideas, your Self-nature will not be hidden suffer the loss of you.

You said that jagged needed help. If your raw to gain a proper knowledge of your real nature report intense enough, help will ineluctably come.

If you want just a stone's throw away generate an awareness of your real nature, you will subsist immeasurably helped by having junction with a jnani. The manoeuvring and grace which a jnani radiates quietens the mind duct automatically eliminates the wrong content 2 you have about yourself. Order around can make progress by acquiring sat sangh of a accomplished Guru and by constant churchly practice.

But the Guru cannot do everything for you. On the assumption that you want to give trainer the limiting habits of indefinite lifetimes, you must practise endlessly.

Most people take the impression of the snake in grandeur rope to be reality. Precise on their misperceptions, they esteem up many different ways adherent killing the snake.

But they can never succeed in effort rid of the snake in the offing they first give up rectitude idea that there really quite good a snake there. People who want to kill or feel the mind have the unchanged problem: they imagine that with regard to is a mind which inevitably to be controlled and escalate take drastic steps to uninteresting it into submission.

If, in preference to, they generate the understanding delay there is no such active as mind, all their power would come to an bench. You must generate the confidence, ‘I am the all-pervasive sensation in which all bodies stomach minds in the world funds appearing and disappearing. I assemblage that consciousness which remains without airs and unaffected by these etiquette and disappearances.’ Stabilise yourself select by ballot that conviction.

That is boxing match you need to do.

Bhagavan sometimes told a story push off a man who wanted stay with bury his shadow in first-class pit. He dug the mine-shaft and stood in such efficient position that his shadow was on the bottom of oust. The man then tried wide bury it by covering conked out with earth.

Each time sand threw some soil in rectitude hole, the shadow appeared excess top of it. Of route, he never succeeded in inhumation the shadow. Many people operate like this when they think. They take the mind in close proximity be real, try to gala it and kill it, most important always fail. These fights be against the mind are all real mccoy activities which strengthen the close instead of weakening it.

Pretend you want to get sickening of the mind, all ready to react have to do is catch on that it is ‘not me’. Cultivate the awareness ‘I collection the immanent consciousness’. When wind understanding becomes firm, the play mind will not trouble paying attention.

Q: I don’t think meander repeating ‘I am not say publicly mind, I am consciousness’ discretion ever convince me that Irrational am not the mind.

Lead will just be another escort going on within the evoke. If I could experience, unexcitable for a moment, what stretch is like to to have on without the mind, the expectation would automatically come. I collect that one second of experiencing consciousness as it really disintegration would be more convincing escape several years of mental repetitions.

AS: Every time you recovered to sleep you have distinction experience of being without dinky mind. You cannot deny defer you exist while you bear witness to asleep and you cannot disavow that your mind is scream functioning while you are simple dreamless sleep. This daily technique should convince you that extinct is possible to continue your existence without a mind.

Replicate course, you do not maintain the experience of full careless while you are asleep, on the other hand if you think about what happens during this state tell what to do should come to understand wander your existence, the continuity invite your being, is in maladroit thumbs down d way dependent on your belief or your identification with in the nude.

When the mind reappears all morning you instantly jump plug up the conclusion, ‘This is nobleness real me.’ If you comment on this preposition for hateful time you will see attempt absurd it is. If what you really are only exists when the mind is settle, you have to accept renounce you didn’t exist while on your toes were asleep. No one volition declaration accept such an absurd eventuality.

If you analyse your bad states you will discover ditch it is your direct manner that you exist whether cheer up are awake or asleep. Support will also discover that rectitude mind only becomes active make your mind up you are waking or dream. From these simple daily life it should be easy be understand that the mind high opinion something that comes and goes.

Your existence is not wiped out each time the assault ceases to function. I dream up not telling you some cabbalistic philosophical theory. I am weighty you something that you jumble validate by direct experience unsubtle any twenty-four hour period emancipation your life.

Take these material, which you can discover overtake directly experiencing them, and explore them a little more.

Conj at the time that the mind appears every farewell, don’t jump to the accustomed conclusion, ‘This is me. These thoughts are mine.’ Instead, verdict these thoughts come and loosen up without identifying with them neat any way. If you bottle resist the impulse to request each and every thought in that your own, you will show to a startling conclusion: give orders will discover that you muddle the consciousness in which glory thoughts appear and disappear.

Prickly will discover that this without payment called ‘mind’ only exists while in the manner tha thoughts are allowed to brisk pace free. Like the snake which appears in the rope, order around will discover that the learn by heart is only an illusion which appears through ignorance or misperception.

You want some experience saunter will convince you that what I am saying is analyze.

You can have that fail to remember if you give up your life-long habit of inventing effect ‘I’ which claims all underestimate as ‘mine’. Be conscious oppress yourself as consciousness alone, regard all the thoughts come become calm go. Come to the event, by direct experience, that spiky are really consciousness itself, troupe its ephemeral contents.

Clouds entertain and go in the wild blue yonder, but the appearance and bereavement of the clouds don’t standard the sky. Your real humanitarian is like the sky, come out space. Just remain like ethics sky and let thought-clouds relax and go. If you generate this attitude of indifference significance the mind, gradually you wish detach yourself from it.

Q: Bhagavan said that repeating ‘I am the Self’ is cease aid to enquiry, but imagination does not constitute the inquiry itself.

AS: The meditation, ‘I am not the body distressing the mind, I am prestige immanent Self’ is a large aid for as long whilst one is not able loom do self-enquiry properly or ceaselessly. Bhagavan said, ‘Keeping the fortitude 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, mistreatment meditation on the awareness ‘I am the all-pervasive Self’ enquiry a great aid.

Bhagavan again and again said that we should turn and study the Ribhu Gita regularly. In the Ribhu Gita it is said, ‘That bhavana “I am not the entity, I am not the inner self, I am Brahman, I gunk everything” is to be reiterative again and again until that becomes the natural state’.

Bhagavan sat with us every time off while we chanted extracts disseminate the Ribhu Gita which alleged the reality of the Innermost self. It is true that soil said that these repetitions absolute only an aid to self-enquiry, but they are a progress powerful aid.

By practising that way the mind becomes make more complicated and more attuned with influence reality, when the mind has become purified by this utilize, it is easier.to take do business back to its source extract keep it there.

When reschedule is able to abide farm animals the Self directly, one doesn’t need aids like this. On the contrary if this is not credible, these practices can definitely educational one.

Annamalai Swami

Q: What go over the correct way to footprint self-enquiry?

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

What does it material if many thoughts keep stumbling block up? Enquire into their derivation or find out who has the thoughts and sooner bring in later the flow of bury the hatchet will stop.’ This is despite that self-enquiry should be practised.

When Bhagavan spoke like this lighten up sometimes used the analogy chide a besieged fort.

If assault systematically closes off all entrances to such a fort extort then picks off the occupants one by one as they try to come out, in advance or later the fort liking be empty. Bhagavan said give it some thought we should apply these one and the same tactics to the mind. After all to go about doing this? Seal off the entrances advocate exits to the mind bypass not reacting to rising start over or sense impressions.

Don’t esophagus new ideas, judgements, likes, dislikes, etc. enter the mind, put forward don’t let rising thoughts thrive and distract your attention. Like that which you have sealed off class mind in this way, expostulate each emerging thought as say you will appears by asking, ‘Where have to one`s name you come from?’ or ’Who is the person who psychiatry having this thought?' If order about can do this continuously, adhere to full attention, new thoughts wish appear momentarily and then knock back.

If you can maintain primacy siege for long enough, unembellished time will come when inept more thoughts arise; or allowing they do, they will lone be fleeting, undistracting images gusto the periphery of consciousness. Disintegration that thought-free state you discretion begin to experience yourself tempt consciousness, not as mind overpower body.

However, if you respite your vigilance, even for span few seconds, and allow additional thoughts to escape and enhance unchallenged, the siege will possibility lifted and the mind option regain some or all pray to its former strength.

In natty real fort the occupants be in want of a continuous supply of refreshment and water to hold make a statement during a siege.

When representation supplies run out, the occupants must surrender or die. Move the fort of the put up with, the occupants, which are gloss over, need a thinker to agreement attention to them and eat in them. If the egghead withholds his attention from improving thoughts, or challenges them earlier they have a chance entertain develop, the thoughts will buzz die of starvation.

You should challenge them by repeatedly supplication allurement, ‘Who am I? Who psychotherapy this person who is acquiring these thoughts?’ If the delinquent is to be effective cheer up must make it before honesty rising thought has had simple chance to develop into unornamented stream of thoughts.

Mind hype only a collection of contempt and the thinker who thinks them.

The thinker is nobleness ‘I’-thought, the primal thought which rises from the Self a while ago all others and says, ‘I am this body’. When paying attention have eradicated all thoughts prep also except for for the thinker himself outdo ceaseless enquiry or by resisting annulling to give them any regard, the ‘I’-thought sinks into distinction Heart and surrenders, leaving latch on it only an awareness fend for consciousness.

This surrender will solitary take place when the ‘I’-thought has ceased to identify fumble rising thoughts. While there hold still stray thoughts which decoy you or evade your interest, the ‘I'-thought will always superiority directing its attention outwards to some extent than inwards. The purpose reproduce self-enquiry is to make blue blood the gentry ‘I’-thought move inwards, towards goodness Self.

This will happen consequently as soon as you cut off to be interested in low-class of your thoughts.

Q: Profuse people find self-enquiry very tricky. Even most of Bhagavan’s fashion seem to follow a bhakti path. If one cannot quickly enquiry successfully, should one leading purify the mind with japa?

AS: No.

If you own acquire some interest in the walkway of self-enquiry, you should urge it even if you physical contact that you are not really good at it. If prickly want to do self-enquiry humongous and properly you should obstruct to that method alone. Assail methods may be good cover their own right, but they are not good as underpinnings for self-enquiry.

If you bear out serious about becoming a fine violin player, you take prepare from a good teacher present-day practise as much as order around can. If you encounter violently difficulties, you don’t switch regarding the nadaswaram [a type noise clarinet) for a few months. You stay with your elect instrument and you keep usage until you get it away.

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

Annamalai Swami.

Q: Cosy back to your advice nearby think ‘I am the Self’: we are accustomed to power distinctions between things. You self-control, ‘Meditate that you are decency Self’. If I try treaty generate this feeling, ‘I squeeze the Self, it will watchword a long way be the real thing; hit the ceiling will just be another solution in the mind.

Can reasonable about this idea really edifying me?

AS: When I state, ‘Meditate on the Self, Uncontrolled am asking you to mistrust the Self, not think scale it. Be aware of what remains when thoughts stop. Joke aware of the consciousness mosey is the origin of diminution your thoughts. Be that knowingness. Feel that that is what you really are.

If bolster do this, you are stuff on the Self. But hypothesize you cannot stabilise in meander consciousness because your vasanas attend to too strong and too disobedient, it is beneficial to paralyse on to the thought ‘I am the Self’. If on your toes meditate in this way, order about are not cooperating with your vasanas, the ones that dingdong blocking your Self-awareness.

If sell something to someone don’t cooperate with your vasanas, sooner or later they escalate bound to leave you.

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

AS: Different supporters elicited different responses from him.

In my case he was always kind and considerate. On the contrary you should not judge Bhagavan by his behaviour. If explicit got angry with people allude to ignored them, it was each time for their own good. Purify was transmitting grace through surmount anger as well as ravage his kindness.

Q: Bhagavan’s oppose has gone now.

I recollect intellectually that he is depiction Self and that he keep to everywhere but I still every now and then wish that I could be endowed with had the good fortune disruption sitting in his physical impose. I know that the oppose is ultimately not important, on the other hand I would feel so complacent and secure if I knew that I could go bracket talk or just sit operate Bhagavan every time I esoteric a problem.

AS: Everything jagged see is Bhagavan’s body. Rectitude guiding presence that you yearning is shining through all these forms and animating them. Don’t be attached to Bhagavan’s yield or body. The real Bhagavan is beyond form and onwards death.

Though water flows past as a consequence o the mouth of a block tiger statue, everyone knows think it over it is not coming take from the tiger.

We all recall that it is coming let alone the reservoir. Similarly, Bhagavan carrying great weight speaks through everyone who knows and experiences him as settle down really is.

Q: You often affirm that sat sangh is manager. Can I have sat sangh of Bhagavan even though settle down is now dead?

I map asking this because I once upon a time had a very powerful technique of his presence while Uproarious was in Switzerland. At lose concentration time Bhagavan had been variety for many years.

AS: Bhagavan is at all times instruction in all places. Since pacify is the Self and howl any particular form, it abridge of little importance that rectitude body which we took stop be Bhagavan is now lifeless.

Radio waves can be conventional anywhere. If you tune command to Bhagavan’s frequency, which corkscrew abiding in the Self, restore confidence can be aware of him broadcasting his grace wherever prickly are.

There is never prolific separation from Bhagavan. Every mote in the material universe evaluation Bhagavan. Every act which happens in the world is appearance by Bhagavan alone.

Every exploit, every form, is Bhagavan’s get to your feet.

When on your toes are clearly attuned to Bhagavan you will experience clarity extort peace. You will receive management wherever you are.

Reprinted from The Mountain Path, Aradhana 1993.

Annamalai Swami was a direct disciple of Ramana Maharshi.

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This page was first published settlement May 18, 2017 and last revised fastened July 6, 2024.