Self-enquiry (Ramana Maharshi)
Shaivism/Tantra/Nath New movements Kashmir Shaivism Gaudapada Adi Shankara Advaita-Yoga Nath Kashmir Shaivism Neo-Vedanta Inchegeri Sampradaya Contemporary Shaivism/Tantra/Nath Neo-Advaita Hinduism Buddhism Modern Advaita Vedanta Neo-Vedanta Self-enquiry, also spelled self-inquiry (Sanskrit vichara, also called jnana-vichara[1] or ātma-vichār), is the constant attention to the inner awareness of "I" or "I am" recommended by Ramana Maharshi as the most efficient and direct way of discovering the unreality of the "I"-thought.
[2] Vichāra (Sanskrit: विचार) means deliberation; its root is वि (prefix to verbs and nouns it expresses) – चर् (to move, roam, obtain knowledge of).
[4] It is the faculty of discrimination between right and wrong; it is deliberation about cause and effect, and the final analysis;[5] it is also the enquiry into the nature of the Atman, Satya, Ishvara and Brahman.
To attain salvation (liberation), a human being must acquire self-knowledge (atma jnana), which is to realise that one's true self (Ātman) is identical with the transcendent self Brahman (or paramatman).
Ramana summarised his insight into "aham sphurana" (Self-awareness)[note 2] to a visitor in 1945:[web 1][note 3] In the vision of death, though all the senses were benumbed, the aham sphurana (Self-awareness) was clearly evident, and so I realised that it was that awareness that we call "I", and not the body.
[web 3] Later in life, he called his death experience akrama mukti, "sudden liberation", as opposed to the krama mukti, "gradual liberation" as in the Vedanta path of jnana yoga:[web 2][note 4] ‘Some people,’ he said, 'start off by studying literature in their youth.
They go to a guru and get initiated by him and then start the process of sravana, manana and nididhyasana, which finally culminates in samadhi.
'[web 2]According to David Frawley, "atma-vichara" is the most important practice in the Advaita Vedanta tradition, predating its popularisation by Ramana Maharshi.
[web 5] It is part of the eighth limb of Patanjali's Yoga Sutras, which describes the various stages of samadhi.
[2] Ramana gave upadesa, "instruction or guidance given to a disciple by his Guru",[web 6] pointing to the true Self of the devotees and showing them the truth of it.
He suggested various aids to assist this process – one could ask oneself 'Who am I?’ or 'Where does this I come from?’ — but the ultimate aim was to be continuously aware of the 'I' which assumes that it is responsible for all the activities of the body and the mind.
Sri Ramana Maharshi saw no conflict between working and self-enquiry and he maintained that with a little practice it could be done under any circumstances.
He did sometimes say that regular periods of formal practice were good for beginners, but he never advocated long periods of sitting meditation and he always showed his disapproval when any of his devotees expressed a desire to give up their mundane activities in favour of a meditative life.
[web 1]Verses nineteen and twenty of Upadesa Undiyar[note 6] describe the same process in almost identical terms: 19.
[web 1]Vichara Sangraham (Self-Enquiry): Therefore, leaving the corpse-like body as an actual corpse and remaining without even uttering the word 'I' by mouth, if one now keenly enquires, 'What is it that rises as 'I'?
If one remains still without leaving it, even the sphurana – having completely annihilated the sense of the individuality, the form of the ego, 'I am the body' — will itself in the end subside, just like the flame that catches the camphor.
