16 Nov 2024
1. Why did Bhagavan Ramana not tell directly to meditate on God to a devotee, Annamalai?
[Shri Ramakanth asked:- Bhagavan Ramana Maharishi told to His disciple, Annamalai Swami, the below when he was repeatedly affected by sexual desire - “If you instead meditate ‘To whom does this thought come?’, it will fly away of its own accord. You are not the body or the mind, you are the self. Meditate on this and all your desires will leave you”. Here, by ‘self’, is He is referring to Atman in absolute reality and the Jiiva in relative reality ? So, He is asking to meditate on God. Is this correct? If yes, why can't this just be told directly? Annamalai Swami is not an atheist and already an ardent devotee of human incarnation. So, why is it not told directly to meditate on God instead of self? I feel that it's easy for most of us to misunderstand it as a practice of focusing on thoughtless awareness.]
Swami replied:- In order to avoid the evil effect, the Divine Preacher, Shri Ramana Maharshi, constructed a concept involving a technology that helps to succeed in avoiding the evil effect, which is repeated sexual desire in the case of Annamalai. Here, the Preacher mentioned the thoughtless soul and the soul is not called God. On concentrating about the thoughtless soul, the sexual desire, which is a thought gets vanished. Even if the Preacher says that thoughtless soul is God, there is nothing wrong since elimination of evil defect is the main task. Once the task is achieved, the Preacher will gradually say that the soul is a part of God. Then, He will say that the soul is totally different from God as a servant. We should not treat the lie told here as a real lie based on ignorance. The lie is told for a good purpose and is called ‘Arthavaada’. Ramana Maharshi always told to search for the source of the soul (‘I’). If you say that the source of the soul is awareness, it is a silly answer. It looks as if the Preacher asked the disciple to search for the source of the chain and the disciple replies that the source of the chain is gold! Even a child can tell this answer and there is no need to search for the cause of the chain.
The real meaning of Maharshi is to search for the root source of the awareness since the ‘I’ is a mode of awareness only. Nobody will ask to search for the source of a candy swan because it is clear that the source is candy sugar. Here, the implied sense is to search for the source of the candy sugar. The ultimate source of all items in this world is only the unimaginable God called Parabrahman. Maharshi is telling to search for the Parabrahman or the ultimate unimaginable God. Since Parabrahman is unmediated and unimaginable, the first energetic incarnation, God Datta, stands in the place of Parabrahman. Any incarnation of God Datta also stands in the place of Parabrahman. The unmediated Parabrahman gets mediated in the world called as incarnation. There is no difference between a naked person in the bathroom (unimaginable-unmediated God) and the same person clothed coming out of the bathroom (mediated God called God Datta or His incarnation). Shri Ramana Maharshi was the incarnation of God Subrahmanya, who is the incarnation of God Datta.
2. How can one refrain from the thoughts of sex in times other than while having issues with a legitimate partner?
[Shri Ramakanth asked:- Among the basic needs—hunger, thirst, sleep and sex—sex is not essential for individual survival, unlike the others. Its urge is always temporary (either by fulfilling it or by ejaculation or by redirecting one’s thoughts at that moment). How can one avoid or refrain from such thoughts altogether in times other than while having issues with a legitimate partner?]
Swami replied:- Sex or Kaama is included in the four important targets of human life (Purushaarthas), which are Dharma or justice, Artha or finance, Kaama or sex and Moksha or Salvation. This Kaama is legitimate and is as holy as God (Dharmāviruddhaḥ kāmo'smi - Gita). The knowledge of this point should be well remembered again and again so that the illegal thought of sex will disappear. Ejaculation of sperm shows that the person could not control the sexual desire. Instead of such meaningless process, it is far better to marry.
3. Who are Mahaatmaas trying to overcome the desire for women in the following context?
[Shri Ramakanth asked:- Annamalai Swami told Bhagavan Shri Ramana, "I don't want Moksha, I just want that the desire for women should not enter my mind." Bhagavan Shri Ramana laughed and said, "All the Mahaatmaas are striving only for this." Who are ‘Mahaatmaas’ here? Why is it said as ‘All’ Mahaatmaas?]
Swami replied:- Mahaatmaa means a great soul (Mahaan Aatmaa Mahaatmaa). All the great souls are also trying to cross the sexual desire towards woman. Legal sex is encouraged by God since it is useful to produce children so that human generations will continue. The ultimate aim of the marriage is also told as extension of human race (Prajātantum… Veda, Prajāyai gṛha methinām- Kaalidasa). For this sake only, God created hormones in the body. Here, what Ramana Maharshi said is about avoiding illegal sex and not the very sex and its desire. Once the mind is deeply fixed in God, the very sexual desire disappears and such people are very rare. In their case, the duty to produce children has no meaning at all. Shankara, Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, Shri Ramana Maharshi, etc., are such exceptional divine souls (Kiṃ prajayā kariṣyāmaḥ - Veda).
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