Spirituality Studies 9-2 Fall 2023 15 Martin Dojčár truth is that nothing has ever appeared. What actually exists is only ātma-svarūpa, which is Sat-Cit, pure existence-awareness, in whose clear view nothing else exists or even seems to exist. This alone is the true meaning of advaita or non-duality. Therefore, the ultimate truth is that advaita is not even the transcendence of the subject-object distinction, because no such distinction has ever existed. However, though this is the ultimate truth, as revealed in Advaita Vēdānta and confirmed by Bhagavan, it is not to be considered as a teaching, because when ego does not exist, there is no need for any teaching and no one to be taught. Therefore, the teachings of Advaita Vēdānta and Bhagavan concede that ego does seem to exist, and since it seems to exist, in its view all this multiplicity also seems to exist, so the aim and purpose of these teachings is to show us the means by which we put an end to the illusory appearance of ego and all other things. So long as we seem to have risen as ego, we seem to be aware of the appearance of multiplicity, so as ego we are the subject or knower, and all other things that appear in our view are objects known by us, and hence so long as we rise and stand as ego the distinction between subject and object will seem to exist. The only means to transcend this distinction, therefore, is to eradicate ego, and as Bhagavan has clarified, ego can be eradicated only by means of self-investigation, which is the practical application of the core teachings of Advaita Vēdānta. Since advaita means that there is “one only without a second”, the correct practice of advaita can only be self-attentiveness, because this is the only practice that entails nothing other than ourself, and that (when practised keenly enough) leaves no room for the rising or appearance of any other thing. This has been made clear by Bhagavan in so many ways, so clarifying and emphasising this is one of the greatest contributions that he made to the Advaita Vēdānta tradition. What are your recommendations for further study of Bhagavan’s teachings – which sources, in what order, and why? To study Bhagavan’s teachings in depth, the most important texts to study attentively and to consider carefully and repeatedly are his own original writings, of which the principal ones are the five hymns of Śrī Aruṇācala Stuti Pañcakam, namely Śrī Aruṇācala Akṣaramaṇamālai, Śrī Aruṇācala Navamaṇimālai, Śrī Aruṇācala Padigam, Śrī Aruṇācala Aṣṭakam and Śrī Aruṇācala Pañcaratnam; his upadēśa poems, namely Upadēśa Undiyār, Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu, Uḷḷadu Nāṟpadu Anubandham (about two thirds of which are verses that he translated from other sources), Ēkāṉma Pañcakam, Appaḷa-p-Pāṭṭu, Āṉma-Viddai and Upadēśa Taṉippākkaḷ (many of which are verses that he translated from other sources); and his prose treatise Nāṉ Ār?, which for the majority of us is the most useful text to study first. My translations of many of these works are available on my website or blog [22], and I am currently working towards making my translations of all the other ones available likewise, after which they will probably be published in book form. The next most important book to study is Guru Vācaka Kōvai, which consists of more than 1,250 verses in which Muruganar recorded important teachings that Bhagavan had given orally, and of which an English translation by Sadhu Om and me is available both as a printed book and as a PDF on my website. Another very useful book to study is The Path of Sri Ramana by Sadhu Om, because in it he explains Bhagavan’s teachings in detail and with great clarity, with particular emphasis on the practice. The original of this book is in Tamil, and earlier this year a revised and more complete translation of it was published. Thank you for sharing your insights with us!
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