#path of knowledge

Sri Ramana Paravidyopanishad [1] -The Supreme Science of the Self as Taught by Sri Ramana - Verses 15-16

An alternative to the quest is the path of devotion to God, culminating in self-surrender, which also leads ultimately to the same goal.

[1] http://davidgodman.org/rteach/rpv_intro.shtml      http://davidgodman.org/rteach/RPV1-331.pdf

2017 Arunachala Karthigai Festival. Day Ten—Evening 3.December: Arunachala Deepam, lighting hill deepam. (Arunachala Grace.Blog)

ॐ

It is totaly fallacious to assume that the State of Deliverance can be won by practices like meditation by the mind, disregarding the direct path of plunging into the Heart.

Having discarded the body like a corpse and without uttering ‘I’ by mouth, scrutinizing with an inward-diving mind, “Where does this feeling ‘I’ rise?”, is alone the path of knowledge (jnana-marga). Instead of inwardly scrutinizing the feeling ‘I’ in this manner, merely thinking (or meditating), “I am not this (body composed of five sheaths), I am That (the absolute reality or Brahman)”, is (at first in a roundabout way) an aid (to the above said path of knowledge or enquiry) but is it enquiry (that is, is it the correct practice of Self-enquiry or Atma-vichara, which is the direct path of Knowledge)?  

— Ulladu Narpadu     Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi’s Reality in Forty Verses - V.29

Note:

If we have been told some particulars about a certain place to which we wish to go, repeating and thereby memorising those particulars may at first be an indirect aid for us to reach that place. But merely repeating and memorising those particulars cannot be the actual journey there. Having learnt those particulars, we must set out and travel to that place.

Similar is the case with the truth which the scriptures tell us about our real and natural state, namely that we are not this body, prana, mind and so on, but are only Brahman, the absolute reality. Meditating upon this truth by repeatedly thinking, “I am not this body, I am Brahman”, may in the beginning be an indirect aid to the practice of Self-enquiry, because it will encourage one to try to know one’s own true nature. But merely repeatedly thinking thus, cannot be the actual practice of Self-enquiry.

How can someone be advised if they want to follow the path of knowledge rather than closure?

The first step is learning to tolerate unfinished answers. Many important questions remain open for long periods. Accepting that uncertainty is part of understanding reduces the temptation to adopt premature conclusions.

The second step is recognizing that knowledge grows gradually. No individual needs to solve every problem personally. Human knowledge is cumulative. Each generation contributes small improvements to a larger structure.

The third step is developing intellectual patience. A difficult subject often becomes clearer only after long exposure. Initial confusion is not failure; it is the normal beginning of understanding.

Finally, it helps to replace the expectation of final certainty with a different goal, i.e improving the accuracy of one’s models of the world. In this sense knowledge is not about possessing ultimate truth but about becoming less mistaken over time.