Self-enquiry (Ramana Maharshi)

Self-enquiry, also spelled self-inquiry (Sanskrit vichara, also called jnana-vichara 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.

Ramana Maharshi taught that the "I"-thought will disappear and only "I-I" or self-awareness remains. This results in an "effortless awareness of being", and by staying with it this "I-I" gradually destroys the vasanas "which cause the 'I'-thought to rise," and finally the 'I'-thought never rises again, which is Self-realization or liberation.

Etymology

Vichāra (Sanskrit: विचार) means deliberation; its root is वि (prefix to verbs and nouns it expresses) – चर् (to move, roam, obtain knowledge of). It is the faculty of discrimination between right and wrong; it is deliberation about cause and effect, and the final analysis. In various Indian traditions, it is inquiry into Satya, Ishvara and Brahman. In Vedanta, Vichāra is reflection and contemplation upon the meaning of Vedantic truths, revealing Brahman, the Universal Self.

Reflecting their backgrounds and interpretative frameworks, vichara is also called jnana-vichara or ātma-vichār by Ramana's devotees, but in Ramana's explanations, "self-enquiry" is not the investigation of the "Self", "Atman", but of the "I", "aham" (Sanskrit), "nan" (Tamil).

Origins

Ramana Maharshi

Ramana's teachings on Self-enquiry originated in his own awakening at age 16, when he became firmly aware of death. It made him aware of an indestructible current or force which transcended the body.