In the center of the cavity of the Heart the sole Infinite shines by Itself as the Atman (Self) in the feeling of 'I' - 'I'. Reach the heart by diving within yourself, either with control of breath, or with thought concentrated on the quest of the Self. You will thus get fixed in the Self.

I have been saying all along that the Heart Center is on the right side, even when learned men differed from me. I speak from experience. I knew it during my trances. Again during the incident recorded in Self-realization I had a very clear vision and experience. All of a sudden a light came from one side erasing the world vision in it's course till it spread all round and cut out completely the vision of the world.

I felt that the heart on the left had stopped and the body become blue and inert. Vasudeva Sastri (a friend) embraced the body and wept over my death. But I could not speak. All the time I was feeling that the Heart Center on the right was working as well as ever. This state lasted 15 or 20 minutes. Then suddenly something shot from the right to the left like a rocket bursting into the sky. The blood resumed circulation and the normal condition of the body was restored.

The entire universe is condensed in the body and the entire body in the Heart. Thus the Heart is the nucleus of the whole universe. This world is not other than mind, the mind is not other than the Heart; that is the whole truth.

The source is a point without any dimensions. It expands as the cosmos on the one hand and as infinite bliss on the other. The point is the pivot. From it a single vasana starts and expands as the experiencer 'I', the experience and the experienced (the world).

To Prince Rama who addressed Guru Vasishtha (in the ancient epic Ramayana approx. 8000 BC) "Which is that big mirror in which all these are mere reflections? What is the heart of all souls or creatures in this universe?"

Guru Vasishtha replied "All creatures in this universe have two kinds of Hearts - One to be taken note of and the other ignored. Hear their respective traits. The one to be ignored is the physical organ called the heart which is situated in the chest as a part of the measurable body. The one to be taken note of is the heart which is of the nature of consciousness. It is both inside and outside (the apparently physical body) and has neither an inside nor an outside.

This is the really important Heart. That is the mirror which holds all this as reflections within It. It is the basis and source of all objects and all kinds of wealth. Therefore, it is only that consciousness which is the Heart of ALL, not that organ which is a small part of the body which is insentient like a stone and which is perishable. So one can achieve the eradication of all desires and control of breath by practise of merging the mind in the Heart which is pure consciousness."

I ask you to see where the 'I' arises in your body; but it is not really correct to say the 'I' rises from and merges in the Heart on the right side of the chest. The Heart is another name for the Reality (the Infinite, the Self, God, Allah, Paramatama, Buddha-nature, Brahman, Holy Spirit, etc) and It is neither inside nor outside the body.

There can be no in and out for it, since It alone is ALL. I do not mean by the Heart any physiological organ or any plexus of nerves or anything like that, but so long as one identifies oneself with the body and thinks he is the body, he is advised to see in the body where the 'I' thought rises and merges again.

It must be the heart at the right side of the chest since every man of whatever race and religion and in whatever language he may be saying 'I' points to the right side of his chest to indicate himself (Ask children who they are and they spontaneously point their finger to the right side of their chest while stating their name, if they were mind they would point to their head. Furthermore the head naturally bends towards the heart during sleep). This is so all over the world. So that must be the place. And by keenly watching the daily emergence of the 'I' thought on waking and it's subsiding in sleep, one can see that it is in the heart on the right side.

Concentrating one's thoughts solely on the Self will lead to happiness or bliss. Drawing in the thoughts, restraining them and preventing them from going outwards is called vairagya. Fixing them in the Self is sadhana or abhyasa. Concentrating on the Heart is the same as concentrating on the Self. The Heart is another name for the Self.

The Self (the Infinite) is the Heart. The Heart is self-luminous. Light arises from the Heart and reaches the brain which is the seat of the mind. The world is seen with the mind, that is by the reflected light of the Self. It is perceived with the aid of the mind.

When the mind is illumined it is aware of the world. When it is not itself so illumined, it is not aware of the world. If the mind is turned inwards towards the source of light, objective knowledge (of a world of conceptual forms) ceases and the Self alone shines forth as the Heart.

THE MIND (LIKE THE MOON) SHINES BY THE REFLECTED LIGHT OF THE HEART (WHICH IS THE SUN).

The moon shines by the reflected light of the sun. When the sun has set, the moon is useful for revealing objects. When the sun has arisen, no one needs the moon, although the pale disc of the moon is still visible in the sky. So is it with the mind and the Heart.

The above insights of Sri Ramana Maharshi are known among spiritual seekers the world over and prized for their great inspirational power, which transcends all religious differences. Sri Ramana Maharshi (1879 - 1950), was one of the greatest spiritual teachers of modern day India. At the age of seventeen he attained a profound experience of the true infinite Self without the guidance of a Guru and thereafter remained conscious of his identity wth the Infinite (also labelled as Holy Spirit, Brahman, Allah, Buddha nature, Tao, soul, etc) at all times. After some years of silent seclusion he finally began to reply to questions put to him by spiritual seekers all over the world. He followed no particular path or traditional system of teaching, but rather spoke directly from his own experience of non-duality. Sri Ramana Maharshi wrote virtually nothing; his teaching took the form of conversations with visitors seeking his guidance (as transcribed by followers), the brief instructions he left with his followers and a few songs. His method of instruction was to direct the questioner again and again to his true self and to recomment, as a path to realization, a tireless form of self-inquiry featuring the question "Who am I?".