[Advaita-l] Ramana's method

[V Subrahmanian]

On Mon, Oct 8, 2012 at 2:35 AM, <rajaramvenk at gmail.com> wrote:

> Intellectually I can infer that the perceived world is unreal. I also know
> that I exist as the basis of all my experiences. But how do I know for a
> fact that I will exist after death of the body? I can believe in sastras
> that tell me so but is there a way to know it directly?
>

Strong application of yukti, I would assure, would bring one to the
unshakeable conviction that I will never cease to exist after the death of
the body.  That yukti is provided to us in the Bhagavadgita chapter 2,
verse 16:  Existence will never cease to be and non-exitence will never
come to exist.  One should study this seminal verse with Shankara's
detailed bhashya.  Shankara gives four important yukti-s to substantiate
the yukti given in the verse.

It does not take too long to appreciate that Existence can never come into
being afresh or go out of existence.  It is Sat, the ever existing
principle.  That is called Brahman.  The Upanishad teaches that the jiva in
essence is that Existence.  So, one can visualize his own existence, pure
existence without the body-mind attachment, as having been always and
continue to be always.  There is no duality in Existence.  Therefore
Advaitic realization of one's own true nature of Pure Existence is not
beyond one's reach.  The sixth chapter of Chandogya upanishad, the tat tvam
asi, is called Sad-vidyA, the teaching of the Sat, Existence.  The teaching
here is: You are That  Sat.

Regards
subrahmanian.v