Talks with Bhagavan - Swami Rajeswarananda

A devotee: Pray tell us about the nature of happiness.

Maharshi Sri Ramana: If a man thinks that his happiness is due to external causes and his possessions, it is reasonable to conclude that his happiness must increase with the increase of possessions and diminish in proportion to their diminution. Therefore, if he is devoid of possessions, his happiness should be NIL. What is the real experience of man? Does it confirm this view. In deep sleep, a man is devoid of possessions, including his own body. Instead of being unhappy he is quite happy. Every one desires to sleep soundly. The conclusion is that happiness is inherent in man and not due to external causes. One must realize one’s Self in order to open the store of unalloyed happiness. Happiness is your own nature. Hence, it is not wrong to desire it. What is wrong is seeking it outside, because it is inside.

Devotee: Can destiny (karma) ever come to an end?

Maharshi Sri Ramana: The karmas carry the seeds of their own destruction in themselves.

Devotee: Please tell us about the nature of Perception.

Maharshi Sri Ramana: Whatever state one is in, the perceptions partake of that state. The explanation is that in the waking state (jagrat) the gross body perceives gross names and forms; in the dreaming state (swapna) the mental body perceives mental creations in their manifold names and forms; in deep sleep state (sushupti) the identification with the body being lost, there are no perceptions; similarly in the Transcendental state, identity with Brahman places the man in harmony with everything, and there is nothing apart from his Self.

Paul Brunton: Is the Hill hollow?

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