Self Inquiry Meditation For Inner Silence And Peace

This is a 20-minute Self Inquiry Meditation from Ramana Maharshi's "Who Am I?" Flowering from the Advaita Vedanta philosophy (non-duality), Self-Inquiry is a technique to investigate the nature of "I" and merge it into the greater I - call it consciousness, god, awareness, Chaitanya. It is a beautiful, simple technique to merge into the divine and experience peace. Or rather, be peaceful.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to this 20-minute session on the practice of self-enquiry. Inspired from Ramana Maharshi's Who Am I? , In this practice, We delve on the question Who Am I? , Not intellectually, But at a deeper level and just try to investigate the nature of this I. How is this done? Sit in any comfortable posture, On the floor or on a chair, With the spine erect, Eyes gently closed, Very relaxed body, Hands can be on the lap or on the knees, All focus, All attention on the breath. Now, At the beginning, It is very natural for the mind to be active, A little agitated, A little restless, Quietening the mind, Not giving power to any thought. As soon as a thought arises and it comes to your notice, Asking the question, To whom does the thought arise? To me. Who is this me? What is the nature of this me? This constant I, I that we do, I am this or I am that, I am feeling this, I am feeling that. What is this I? For these 20 minutes, We try and delve on the nature of this I, There is no intellectual answer to this. As the practice of self-enquiry says, Once you constantly ask this question, The question itself dissolves and merges into the heart. How? In the same way whenever emotion arises, Whenever a feeling arises, Whenever a thought arises, Asking to whom does this arise? To me. Who is this me? Is it this body? Is it this mind? If it is the mind, How come I am able to watch the mind? What is the mind? A bundle of thoughts. So I have a mind. What is this I? I am going to the source of this I and resting there. Not trying to formulate an answer, Not trying to answer it verbally, Just observing the source from which a thought arises or an emotion arises and resting there. Staying completely in this moment, However it is, Not trying to control thoughts, If a thought is emerging, Noticing it, Coming back to the source from where it emerges and resting there. Just staying with the feeling of I am. If you look at it, It's not even a feeling, For a lack of words, The I am-ness, Just being, Whatever is happening in this moment, There may be some sound in the external, There may be something happening at a bodily level, Some sensation, Some movement outside, Can be anything, Just noticing it, No processing, No analyzing, Just being, I am, With an inhalation I and with an exhalation am, I am, I am, I am. Noticing everything, If there is an effort, There is someone trying to meditate, Who is this meditator, From where is this effort arising, Watching that intently, Just contemplating on this moment, From where does this feeling of I exist, What is this I that exists, Is it there in deep sleep, We are not thinking too hard, Relaxing, Being very easy in this moment, Everything is perfect as it is, Everything was always perfect and everything will always be perfect, Just being, No effort, Not trying to meditate in a particular way, Not trying to be someone, Very relaxed, Resting in this moment, Giving no force to the individual will, Merging the will with the universal will, Letting the wave fall back into the ocean, Letting it realize that it is the ocean, It always was the ocean and it will always be the ocean, Eyes gently closed, Back straight, Not stretching yourself too much, I am, I am, I am, Gentle I am-ness, Nowhere to go, Nothing to achieve, Abiding in this peaceful moment, Completely at ease, Dropping the mind into the heart, Observing each and every moment, What is this body, What is this mind, Is this body-mind complex me, Is it the same I that is in the dream, Is it the same I that disappears in deep sleep, If you investigate really deeply, One would possibly realize, The world is nothing but the mind, Perception of the mind and it changes every moment and whenever the mind drops, The world drops, There is no world in deep sleep, There is absolutely nothing in deep sleep or rather everything, Because as soon as the mind arises, As soon as you start dreaming or you wake up, Wake up from sleep, You see the world coming into existence again and every night for a few minutes in deep sleep, Everything goes back to zero, So what is this sea of everything-ness, Nadvaita vedanta, This is brahman, Consciousness, God, Awareness, Chaitanyam, With that gently open your eyes, Taking a few deep breaths, Deep inhalations and exhalations, Namaste, Thank you.

Reviews

Even after a 10 Day Vipassana Course in the tradition of S.N. Goenka, most of a Yoga Teacher's Course as well as many different types of meditation and spiritual experiences, as an adult just recently diagnosed with ADHD, I find relaxing and "dropping in" very difficult. This gentle voice reminiscent of my travels throughout India in combination with one of my favorite Ramana Maharshi teachings centered this meditator deeper into the I-Am-ness than they have been in quite a while. Sadhu! Well spoken :)