Finding Truth Within
The great 20th-century Indian sage Ramana Maharshi was a master of the
wisdom tradition of yoga. He found that intense inquiry into the nature
of our own being leads to deep connection to the higher self and
understanding of spiritual truth.
Self-inquiry, as it suggests, is to ask questions of ourselves.
Actually it is something we do every day. Certainly we’re always asking
ourselves questions and receiving inner guidance. Should I follow this
career or that one? Am I ready to make a change or should I keep things
as they are? Sincere self-inquiry leads to inner wisdom.
Ramana’s inquiry, however, was designed to guide us deeper, to our
highest state of consciousness. He asks us to consider the state before
thought, the experience of unformed impressions rising up into
awareness. His classic instruction was to ask: Who am I? For the most
part, when we ask ourselves Who am I? the usual answers are about our
person. I am this nationality, I have this education, drive this car,
have these people in my family, live at this place and do these things.
Ramana recommends to keep working with the inquiry to peel away the
outer layers. He tells us to investigate the source of the inquiry
itself as consciousness. Where does the inquiry originate within?
Another classic technique that Ramana recommended is to investigate I
am. When you think about it, what do we really know? What can we say
for sure is absolute truth? Our senses respond to vast input from
today’s hectic lifestyles and media barrage. Our minds are a trove of
memories, stored impressions, images, observations, information and
life experience. Each of our lives is entirely subjective and our
shared reality is open to interpretation. Even when we can say ‘I was
there. This is what happened’, it is based on our own state of mind and
senses at the time. Ramana implies that spiritual truth cuts through
the dross and simply is I am.
Inquiry: Who am I? With gentleness and sincerity, ask yourself: Who am
I? Allow the responses to arise, such as your gender, age, occupation
or family status. Continue asking Who am I? and go deeper into your
interests, your history or your wishes for the future. Take it to
another level to your mind and your life force: Who am I? Explore
further inside into the experience of awareness and consciousness. If
your mind is active, continue asking: Who am I? Notice the feeling
behind the inquiry. Does the energy feel contracted or expanded? If you
can, take a moment then to sit in your pure being.
Meditation: I am. Use the Who am I? inquiry to lead into the I am
meditation. After spending time exploring Who am I? gently say I am a
few times aloud, then repeat it silently: I am. I am. I am. Allow it to
resonate and investigate how you feel. Do you feel an expansion of
energy? Who is the ‘I’? Continue repeating: I am. I am. I am. Allow it
to take you to stillness.
Contemplation: Awareness is the essence of being. Awareness is aware of itself.
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