Letters from Sri Ramanasramam, by Suri Nagamma

Sometimes while in meditation, I feel blissful and tears come
to my eyes; at other times I do not have them. Why is that?”
Bhagavan with a smile, said, “Bliss is a thing which is
always there and is not something which comes and goes.

That which comes and goes is a creation of the mind and
you should not worry about it.”
The lady: “The moment the bliss that comes, with a
thrill of the body, disappears, I feel dejected and desire to
have the experience over again. Why?”
Bhagavan: “You admit that ‘you’ were there both when
the blissful feeling was on and when it was not? If you realize
that ‘you’ properly, those experiences will be of no account.”
Another questioner: “For realizing that bliss, there must
be something to catch hold of, mustn’t there?”
Bhagavan: “There must be a duality if you are to catch
hold of something else, but what IS, is only one Self, not a
duality. Hence, who is to catch hold of whom? And what is
the thing to be caught?”
No one replied, and with a kindly expression, Bhagavan
said, “The inherent vasanas are so strong. What can be done?”
A young man came in, sat down, and gave a note to
Bhagavan.

Bhagavan, after reading it, said, “See, in this note is
written, ‘Is peace of mind liberation (moksha)?’ The reply is
contained in the question itself. What else can be said? He
must have asked after knowing what mind (chitta) is.”
Someone asked the young man, “You know what is
meant by chitta, don’t you?”
The young man: “Chitta means mind.”
Bhagavan: “Yes, but what about it? Your question itself
states that peace of mind is liberation.”
The young man: “The mind is at times peaceful and at
other times distracted. How are we to prevent those
distractions?”
Bhagavan: “For whose mind is that distraction? Who is
it that is enquiring?”
The young man: “For my mind. The enquirer is myself.”
Bhagavan: “Yes, that is the real thing. There is a thing
called ‘I’. Peace being experienced now and then, it must be
admitted that there is a thing called peace. Moreover, those
feelings called desires are also of the mind, and if desires
were banished, there would be no wavering of the mind;
and if there is no wavering, that which remains is peace. To
attain that which is always there requires no effort. Effort is
required only for the banishing of all desires. As and when
the mind wavers, it must be diverted from those matters. If
that is done, peace remains as it is. That is Atma, the Self,
that is Liberation and that is Self.”
ytae ytae iniírit mníÂlmiSwrm!,
ttSttae inyMyEtdaTmNyev vz< nyet!.

Restraining the restless and fidgety mind from all those
objects after which it runs, one should repeatedly
concentrate on the Self.

Gita, VI: 26