girl wiping mirror

An Upanishad for Modern Times

What is Enlightenment and How Do You Find It?

By iamquiet

The experience of one’s true state of total emptiness is indescribable. No pleasure or fleeting happiness or excitement I have experienced before even comes close. Nothing I can say will compare, experience it for yourself.

February 8, 2020

Sadhana

The Problem with Distraction

By Khenpo Thrangu

This excerpt from a famous book about dzogchen describes the lost-in-thought state, which is referred to here as ‘mind’ and ‘distraction’.

January 8, 2020

Sadhana

The Mirror: Advice on Presence and Awareness

By Chögyal Namkhai Norbu

If one recognizes one’s own intrinsic State as pure from the beginning and only temporarily obscured by impurities, and if one maintains the presence of this recognition without becoming distracted, then all the impurities dissolve. This is the essence of the Path.

January 5, 2020

Sadhana

Who Am I?

By Sri Ramana Maharshi
Translated by Michael James

The complete text of the best translation of the definitive instruction manual for Self-enquiry. Includes notes, commentary, and original Tamil.

January 2, 2020

Memories

Reflections on Paul Brunton

By Paul Cash

A sage is remembered by his personal assistant.

December 30, 2019

Exposition

Unconditional Love and the Surrender to Fear

By Jan Frazier

As we feel the moments when need or fear enters the picture, the walls that constrain the heart, that drive us to a crippling refuge in the mind, can be felt gently to begin to crumble.

December 26, 2019


Monsoon by Julie Mayfeng

Autobiography

After My Kundalini Woke Up

By Freddie Yam

Kundalini created a permanent conviction that the universe is benevolent and put an end to fear.

December 24, 2019

Teaching

The Portal

By Edward Muzika

Deep inside each of us lies a doorway between existence and nonexistence, between experience and nothingness. In that darkness you find all your abilities to experience the world. This article contains the culmination of the author’s teachings.

December 18, 2019

Sadhana

Here Lies the Whole Secret of Knowing Oneself

By Ilie Cioara

Somebody who was truly Self-realized explains how it happened to him and how it can happen to you.

December 12, 2019

Celebration

Happy Birthday, Realization.org

By the Editors

This website is 20 years old today.

December 5, 2019

Classic

The Holy Mountain

By Saiva Ellappa Navalar
Translated by Robert Butler

Lord Shiva manifests as a pillar of fire to curb the egos of Brahma and Vishnu, who were fighting with each other in a dispute over which of the two was the greater, in this famous story from the Arunachala Puranam, the 17th century Tamil classic.

September 17, 2019

Advice

Gurus Who Do Bad Things

By the Editor

Don’t be a victim.

May 11, 2019


Winding road

Sadhana

Short Path and Long Path

By Paul Brunton

Two ways to seek enlightenment.

August 21, 2019


Door to Here

Classic

The Gospel of Thomas

Translated by Stephen Patterson and Marvin Meyer

Some scholars believe that the Gospel of Thomas records Jesus’s teachings more accurately than the Bible does.

September 14, 2000


Lightning

Experience

Kundalini is My Guru

By GS

An anonymous scientist describes how Kundalini performs yoga with his body and mind and puts him in an elevated spiritual state. This is Kundalini in its classic form, as people wish it to be.

July 12, 2019

Sri Ramana Maharshi

Self-enquiry

‘I’ and ‘I-I’, a Reader’s Query

By David Godman

What did Sri Ramana Maharshi mean when he used the terms ‘I–I’ and sphurana?

July 9, 2019

Japanese bridge

Self-enquiry

Focus on the Source, not the I-thought

Author’s name withheld

Avoid this common mistake that many people make with Self-enquiry.

March 6, 2019


Photo by Chiara Samugheo

Insight

Ramana’s Metaphor of Shaving in a Mirror

By ‘Vishnu’ (N.R. Narayana Iyer) and C.K. Anavema Reddy

Book learning and memorization of scriptures are of no use.

January 17, 2019


Jan Frazier

Insight

The Secret Room Where Peace Lives

By Jan Frazier

Can you fully accept what is, however far it departs from the thing you expected or wished for? That question turns the knob on the door.

December 15, 2018


Shivabalayogi

Sadhana

The Path of Silence

By Gurprasad

The power of silence sucks the mind into a spiritual black hole from which it cannot escape.

December 13, 2018


Franklin Merrell-Wolff

Self-Enquiry

Isolation of the Subjective Moment

By Franklin Merrell-Wolff

Franklin Merrell-Wolff describes how he performed the crucial step that led to his enlightenment.

December 12, 2018


Freeman Dyson

Autobiography

Enlightenment Came to Me Suddenly

By Freeman Dyson

Freeman Dyson is a famous physicist and mathematician. Did he become enlightened at age 15?

December 12, 2018


Patriarch Athenagoras I with Pope Paul VI on January 5, 1964

Poem

I Am Disarmed

By Patriarch Athenagoras I

I’m no longer afraid of anything, because love banishes fear.

August 2, 2018


Franklin Merrell-Wolff

Article

Recognition, an Inversion of Consciousness

By Franklin Merrell-Wolff

Recognition and Liberation are attained by turning the attention toward the subjective pole and away from the objective content of consciousness. The effort must be to attain a consciousness without objective content. Such a consciousness may be likened to a light in a space that contains no objects.

April 1, 2018


Swami Muktananda

Autobiography

The Master of Ganeshpuri

By Paul Zweig

A gifted writer visits Muktananda at his ashram in India.

January 3, 2018

Scott Kiloby

Interview

The End of the Spiritual Search

An interview with Scott Kiloby by Iain McNay.

December 30, 2017


Scott Kiloby

Autobiography

The Awakening

By Scott Kiloby

Scott Kiloby describes his awakening.

December 28, 2017


Swami Muktananda

Autobiography

The Bright Yellow Circus

By Paul Zweig

An extraordinarily gifted writer describes how he was changed by his guru, Muktananda.

December 22, 2017


Sages in a Landscape, a Pahari miniature

Scripture

Mandukya Upanishad

A comparison of ten complete translations.

January 19, 2000


The opposite of a black hole

Experience

Self-Realization is the Opposite of that Black Hole

By Adiguru Prakriti

The highest form of Mystery I ever had/felt/am

June 29, 2017


Richard Rose

Autobiography

Three Accounts of My Awakening

By Richard Rose

Richard Rose describes his moment of Self-realization.

June 24, 2017


Sri Ramana Maharshi photo LM_06

Book Excerpt

Ramana Talks About Aurobindo

By David Godman

Swami Madhavtirtha recalls a conversation in which Ramana Maharshi explained the differences between his teachings and Sri Aurobindo’s.

September 28, 2001


Elphinstone College

Book Review

The Autobiography of an Indian Monk
by Shri Purohit Swami

Reviewed by Laura Olshansky

The first autobiography of a yogi ever written, and the only one that received editorial assistance from a Nobel laureate in literature.

September 10, 2000


Ed Muzika and two friends by Hans Gutnecht

Article

Awakening vs. Liberation

By Ed Muzika

After experiencing nirvikalpa thousands of times, the author was deeply disappointed because he was still the same person.

June 14, 2017


Diver

Sadhana

The Question of the Importance of Samadhi in Modern and Classical Advaita Vedanta

By Michael Comans, PhD

Do Advaitins believe that samadhi is necessary for liberation?

March 4, 2004


Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Sadhana

The Nectar of Immortality

By Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

You must be possessed by this idea of finding out what this “I-am-ness” is, just as you would not rest until you found the source of a smell emanating from some place.

October 18, 2001


Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Sadhana

The Quintessence of My Teaching

By Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

You know you are. How do you know it? And with what did you know it? This is the sum total of my teaching needed to put you on the right track, its very quintessence.

October 3, 2001


Black-crested macaque by Stefano Unterthiner.

Sadhana

Awareness

By Jiddu Krishnamurti

That intelligence comes into being only when we are passively aware of the whole process of our consciousness, which is to be aware of ourselves without choice, without choosing what is right and what is wrong.

June 8, 2017


Tiger on road.  Courtesy Jim Corbett Visit.

Sadhana

Meditation is the Ending of All Experience

By Jiddu Krishnamurti

Meditation is the total inaction which comes out of a mind that sees what is, without the entanglement of the past.

June 7, 2017

Painting by Arna Baartz at artofkundalini.com

Experience

Kundalini Signs and Symptoms: The Complete List

By El Collie

June 6, 2017


H.W.L. Poonja (Papaji)

Experience

Two Former Students Compare Memories of Their Guru, Papaji

By Arjuna Ardagh and Andrew Cohen

Arjuna Ardagh and Andrew Cohen talk about their experiences with H.W.L. Poonja.

June 6, 2017


Shiva and Devi

Classic

The Vijnana Bhairava

Translated by Paul Reps and Lakshman Joo

This great classic text of Tantric Shaivism describes 112 ways to catch sight of Reality beyond the mind.

June 3, 2017


Sun, moon, lightning

Experience

The Yoga of Three Enlightenments

By Petri Einiö

Consciousness is the sunlight of our soul; Awareness, the moonlight; Kundalini, the cool balancing energy.

December 28, 1999


Mercedes de Acosta

Experience

My Meeting with Ramana Maharshi

By Mercedes de Acosta

She was a Hollywood socialite. He was the most revered sage in India. Here’s what happened when they met.

February 10, 2000


Neurofeedback Buddha

Experience

How Will I Know If I’m Really Meditating?

By John S. Anderson

After struggling for years to learn to meditate with traditional techniques, the author was so discouraged he gave up. Then he tried neurofeedback.

June 30, 2000


Franklin Merrell-Wolff

Experience

My Awakening

By Franklin Merrell-Wolff

I saw that genuine Recognition is simply a realization of Nothing, but a Nothing that is absolutely substantial and identical with the SELF. This was the final turn of the Key which opened the Door.

May 31, 2017


Richard Rose

Sadhana

A Method of Going Within

By Richard Rose

By watching the mind from points of view that are behind the mind, we can recognize our essential self.

May 30, 2017


Water lily

Sadhana

Control of Mind vs. Destruction of Mind

By Ramanananda Swarnagiri

A silent mind will not lead to Self-realization unless awareness of ‘I’ is present.

May 30, 2017


Water lily

Classic

Ellam Ondre (All Is One)

By Vaiyai R. Subramaniam

Ramana Maharshi said, “If you want liberation, write, read, and practice the instructions in Ellam Ondre.”

May 20, 2000


Water lily

Classic

Vivekachudamani

Translated by John Henry Richards

The great Advaitin classic attributed to Adi Shankara.

May 16, 2000


H.W.L. Poonja (Papaji)

Dialog

Who are you? An interview with H.W.L. Poonja

by Jeff Greenwald

Papaji explains how to get an immediate glimpse of enlightenment.

October 24, 2001


Free Fall by Ace Rheaume

Commentary

The Ashtavakra Gita

by J.L. Brockington

Its history, context, main ideas, and significance.

May 26, 2017


H.W.L. Poonja (Papaji)

Article

Papaji’s first meeting with Ramana Maharshi

by David Godman

H.W.L Poonja (Papaji) describes what happened when he asked Ramana Maharshi to show him God. Sri Ramana said God cannot be seen, but as he spoke, Papaji’s heart center opened.

September 23, 2001

Article

How to dissolve energy blocks

by Freddie Yam

Nothing can withstand consciousness.

May 22, 2017

Dialog

Ultimately, knowledge is ignorance

by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

The so-called birth is the appearance of ignorance which prevails till the so-called death.

May 22, 2017

Reference

The Mountain Path

Links to all back issues.

May 21, 2017

Sadhana

Talks with Annamalai Swami

by Annamalai Swami

Dialogs with Annamalai Swami, a Self-realized expert on Self-enquiry who was a direct disciple of Ramana Maharshi.

May 18, 2017

Article

Enlightenment and cosmic consciousness are completely unrelated

by Jed McKenna

It’s possible to have one without the other, and there are millions of cases of mysticism and cosmic consciousness for every case of enlightenment.

May 18, 2017

Sadhana

Hints for Self-Enquiry

by Annamalai Swami

Helpful hints from somebody who really knows how because he really did it.

May 15, 2017

Advice

The Key to Self-Realization

by Major Alan W. Chadwick

The key to Self-realization is practice, practice and practice only.

May 15, 2017

Advice

No More Is Needed

by Major Alan W. Chadwick

The little pamphlet Who Am I? says everything you need to know to become Self-realized.

May 15, 2017

Sadhana

Advice About Self-Enquiry

by G.V. Subbaramayya

For going within, there is no map and there is no guide.

May 14, 2017

Tirade

Sadhu Natanananda’s Ferocious Lecture About Self-Enquiry

by V. Ganesan

His face was red with rage. “What a fool you are!” he told me. “What do you think you have come to Bhagavan for?”

May 14, 2017

Booklet

Glimpses of the Life and Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi

by Felicia R. Scatcherd and Frank Humphreys

A short booklet that contains letters by the first Western devotee of Sri Ramana Maharshi, Frank Humphreys.

May 13, 2017


Paul Brunton

Sadhana

A Few Notes on Self-Enquiry

by Paul Brunton

He who would attempt to know his Overself must learn to retire into his mind as a tortoise retires into its shell.

May 12, 2017

Paul Brunton

Experience

The Sage Who Never Speaks

by Paul Brunton

A presumably true story by Paul Brunton from his famous best selling book, A Search in Secret India

May 11, 2017


God the Father by Cima da Cagliano

Article

The Cloud of Unknowing, Chapter 68

Author Unknown

In the Cloud of Unknowing, complete darkness becomes blinding spiritual light.

May 10, 2017


Richard Rose

Article

Triangulation and Jacob’s Ladder

by Richard Rose

The mind cannot be studied with the mind. It must be observed from some point outside of, and yet superior to, the mind.

May 7, 2017


Gopi Krishna

Experience

Gopi Krishna’s Awakening

by Gopi Krishna

Suddenly, with a roar like that of a waterfall, I felt a stream of liquid light entering my brain through the spinal cord.

May 6, 2017


Sadhu Om

Instructions

How to do Self-Enquiry

by Sri Sadhu Om

Sri Sadhu Om’s book on Self-enquiry is usually regarded as the definitive instruction manual for that practice. He was Sri Ramana Maharshi’s direct disciple and Muruganar’s literary executor. This article contains the entire chapter on technique from his book. In our opinion, these are the most thorough and authoritative instructions in existence for Sri Ramana’s method.

May 1, 2017


Jan Frazier

Experience

My Awakening

by Jan Frazier

Spiritual teacher Jan Frazier describes how she woke up.

April 29, 2017


Sri Ramana Maharshi

Reference

Ramana photo gallery

by the Editors

This gallery contains more than 1500 photos of Sri Ramana Maharshi.

April 9, 2017


Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Dialog

Nisargadatta’s Method

Edited by Jean Dunn

In this dialog, Nisargadatta Maharaj gave a brief, clear summary of the method of spiritual practice that he recommended.

October 7, 2016


Eckhart Tolle

Experience

Eckhart Tolle’s Awakening

by Paula Coppel

In this interview with Unity Magazine, Eckhart Tolle describes his experience of awakening.

October 4, 2016

Experience

My Awakening

by Adyashanti

Spiritual teacher Adyashanti describes the day he awakened.

September 12, 2016

Interview

The Experience of No-Self

Stephan Bodian interviews Bernadette Roberts

In this 1986 interview, former nun Bernadette Roberts describes the state of no-self, a stage she reached twenty years after enlightenment, where consciousness and self are absent.

September 12, 2016

Article

Higher Consciousness Healing

by Tara Springett

Higher consciousness healing is a simple, fast, easy method for overcoming pain, fatigue, and psychological problems.

September 7, 2016


Brown bear eating grass

Poem and commentary

The Listener

by Ilie Cioara

The listener is a false intruder. Real listening is done with an open heart and all-encompassing attention.

September 6, 2016


Bird with head in ground

Advice

Tinkles from a Golden Belle

By Judi Rhodes

Selected writings.

January 16, 2023

Article

Signs of an Awakened Kundalini

by Swami Vishnu Tirth

How can you tell if your kundalini is active? A noted shaktipat guru lists 18 signs.

September 3, 2016

Article

My initiation and the science of shaktipat

by Swami Shivom Tirth

Swami Shivom Tirth, a noted shaktipat guru, describes how he received shaktipat from another noted shaktipat guru, Swami Vishnu Tirth, in 1960.

September 2, 2016

Article

Shaktipat

by Paul Zweig

Paul Zweig’s brilliantly written description of transmission from Swami Muktananda.

August 31, 2016

Article

My Awakening

by Devrah Laval

How one woman used the question “Who am I?” to wake up.

August 28, 2016

Article

Three Stages of Existence

by Adiguru Prakriti

Adiguru Prakriti outlines the three stages of existence ‒ Experiencing, Knowing, and Being ‒ and the two events that separate them, Enlightenment and Self-realization.

June 22, 2016

Article

How to Stop Headaches Caused by Meditation

by humanbeing

Headaches and pressure in the head are common problems for meditators. This article explains the cause and describes an easy, effective method for getting rid of them.

January 7, 2016

Article

How to Stop Thoughts

by Freddie Yam

People imagine that they are always conscious when they’re awake, but in fact they are usually lost in thought. Once you notice this you can learn to be conscious. When you are conscious, thoughts stop.

November 28, 2015

Experience

Am I Conscious Now?

by Susan Blackmore

People imagine that they are always conscious when they’re awake, but if you observe yourself carefully you’ll see that you’re conscious only when you look to see if you are.

November 22, 2015

Experience

When Kundalini Breaks the Last Block

by A.D.

Kundalini activity made the author happy and healthy for over a year — until the night it broke through the last block and entered his head, causing a devastating neurological illness.

May 5, 2000

Book Excerpt

The Most Effective Cure for Kundalini Psychosis

by Mantak Chia

Kundalini sometimes makes people crazy because it gets trapped in the head. A Taoist energy practice called “the microcosmic orbit” can prevent this from happening or fix it after it occurs.

October 16, 2015

Book Excerpt

How Dada Gavand Woke Up

by Dada Gavand

Dada Gavand describes with remarkable precision exactly what he did that led to his waking up. This is one of the clearest and most informative depictions of spiritual practice that has ever been written.

June 16, 2014

Reference

Ashtavakra Gita

Our main reference page on the Ashtavakra Gita.

June 23, 2014

Scripture

Ashtavakra Gita

Translated by John Richards

Some people consider this poem to be the greatest work of Advaitin literature ever written.

December 10, 1999

Biography

Rebirth of a Madwoman: The Resurrection of Byron Katie

by Dan Millman and Doug Childers

The biography of a woman who inadvertently used clinical depression for sadhana and wound up as a spiritual teacher.

June 14, 2014

Article

Quit Your Pain

by Mark Matousek

A well-written, sympathetic introduction to Byron Katie and her work.

June 14, 2014

Interview

An Interview with Suzanne Segal

by Lynn Marie Lumiere and John Lumiere-Wins

Shortly before her death, in this long interview, Suzanne Segal said the purpose of her life had been to suffer fear for ten years without a sense of a personal self so she could tell people that such a thing is possible. “The presence of the fear never for a minute brought back a personal reference point. It never for a minute obstructed the view of the Vastness for Itself.”

June 13, 2014

Poem

Moon Eyes

by David Spero

It begins, “My heart falls over itself in silence / and wraps itself in the fondest way before first dawn…”

May 22, 2014

Poem

Untitled #3

by David Spero

It begins, “Descending, You undressed me in the night. / You took my Body and held It against Yours, coaxing me into the silence that I know You love.…”

May 22, 2014

Poem

Untitled #4

by David Spero

It begins, “There is something that stands shining / at the end of your life. / Against all odds you will come to it…”

May 22, 2014

Book Excerpt

Self-Remembering in the Rockies

by Thomas J. Anderson

In this excerpt from his book All-Amareakin, Tom Anderson recalls a nine day road trip that began with Self-remembering and ended with samadhi.

May 17, 2014

Book Excerpt

Self-Remembering

by P.D. Ouspensky

Gurdjieff's foremost disciple explains self-remembering and recalls his first attempts to practice it.

May 17, 2014

Poem

Black Ant

by Jan Frazier

An ant finds God in a toilet.

April 10, 2014

Experience

What Does He Mean To Me?

by Wolter A. Keers

The author recalls how Sri Ramana Maharshi's presence helped him understand who he really is.

February 10, 2014

Experience

Sri Ramana Maharshi's Moment of Realization

by the Editors

What did Sri Ramana do to realize the Self?

February 4, 2014

Experience

The Day My Kundalini Woke Up

by Freddie Yam

He cried tears of joy for three days.

December 5, 1999

Experience

Killing the Ego: Does it Hurt?

by Laura Olshansky

After years of meditation, her ego is slipping away.

December 8, 1999

Poem

I Need to Feel You Every Moment in My Heart

by Charlie Hopkins

One of our favorite poems.

May 18, 2000

Poem

Prayer Body

by Charlie Hopkins

It begins, "My eyes were empty graves I dug with my own hands...."

February 25, 2000

Instructions

Instructions for Self Enquiry

by Annamalai Swami

One of Ramana Maharshi's closest devotees explains that self-enquiry must be done continuously for long periods of time in order to be effective.

January 23, 2014

Experience

Nothing Existed Except the Eyes of the Maharshi

by N.R. Krishnamurti Aiyer

Ramana Maharshi's gaze ignited a college professor's Kundalini, opened his heart center, and stopped his thoughts.

October 29, 2001

Experience

The I Flashed Forth

by Anonymous

A visitor to Sri Ramana's ashram has his first direct experience of the Self.

June 12, 2000.

Interview

An Interview with Byron Katie

by Sunny Massad

Everything now feels like heaven to a woman who was depressed for years, and she calls this state "love."

October 23, 2001

Experience

My Awakening

by Osho

An unusually vivid description of what it feels like to become enlightened.

September 20, 2000

There’s a lot more stuff on this site. To find it, follow links from the menu bars at the top of this page.

The Mountain Path

This page was first published on December 5, 1999, last revised on January 17, 2023, and last republished on May 17, 2023.


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