Swami Nirmalananda

FOR BLISSFUL LIVING

QUESTIONS BY DEVOTEES
ANSWERS BY SWAMI NIRMALANANDA

Swami Nirmalananda: (1863 - 1938). A direct disciple of

Bhagavan Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa

1
Front Cover of Booklet
FOR BLISSFUL LIVING
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
SWAMI NIRMALANANDA
========== XXX ===========
On Back Cover
To flower in Goodness, read our following publications by Swami Nirmalananda
Flowers from the Forest
Zen, a way of life
Poetical Religion
Our Rishis
To Live to Benefit Mankind
The Kingdom of Happiness
Music and Poetry in Life
Enlightened Anarchism
Swami Nirmalananda by Prof K.S.Ramakrishna Rao M.A. Retd. Prof of Philosophy
Conversations with Swami Nirmalananda By Chris Walker
========= XXXX ===============
Q : Part 1 By Shri V.VISWANATHAN
Part 2 By Prof.R.MORTENSEN pH.D
A : BY SWAMI NIRMALANANDA
1991 Published by Viswa Shanti Niketana , B.R.Hills-571313
Karnataka, India
Printed by Kittel Printers Mysore-2, India
======== XXX ======
The Bliss and beauty of self-awareness cannot be described in words-
Swami Nirmalananda
===== XXX ====
PART - 1
FOREWORD
Curious to see the man who had lived in silence and solitude for almost three decades, I went to
B.R.Hills seeking Swamiji. I felt his silence flowering into a benign look with a beaming face, as
though the Heaven was smiling on me !
In his silent presence, questions that had troubled me for twenty five years poured forth
spontaneously . These are the fundamental questions of life and those who grapple with them
will have no need to ask any further questions. The answers not only satisfied me, but also
inspired the idea to publish the questions and answers for the benefit of all seekers
V.Viswanathan , Madras
Questions and Answers- Part 1
Q : Tell me, Swamiji, what is the nature of the Self or Reality according to your experience ?

2
A : One, without beginning and end. Immensely great, Immeasurably vast, the Eternal and the
All- knowing without form

Q : How to enter into that space without wandering in the jungle of thoughts ?
A : You are that only. At the core of your being, the Self alone exists. Just BE That without
thoughts.

Q : How to stop thoughts ?

A : You can’t. Just as it is natural of the fire to burn, so also it is the nature of the mind to think.
But it is in your power either to harbor thoughts or not to harbor them.

Q : Why are we so much disturbed by thoughts, repeatedly tortured and tormented by our own
mind?
A : In the mind of the thoughtless , all sorts of thoughts crop up like weeds grow in the garden,
whereas in an alert, attentive and watchful mind, thoughts are not allowed to function.

Q : Do you mean to say that we should not think at all ?

A : There is nothing wrong in thinking. But if we carelessly go along with our thought, clarity of
the mind will disappear and we will end up in confusion.

Q : How to attain clarity of the mind?

A : Do not allow thought-clouds to linger on in the mind-sky and hide the self-effulgent Reality.
Then the mind will be bright and clear.

Q : Where does the Self or Truth exist ?

A : Everywhere and in everything

Q : How to find it ?
A : By purifying one’s own mind and making it subtle, sensitive, crystal clear and transparent.

Q : What is the nature of such a pure mind ?

A : It is the Self, the Truth, the mindless Mind (or) Cosmic Consciousness

Q : Where is it felt ?
A : In the Heart

Q : Where to find Joy ?

A : In one’s own Heart

3
Q : How can one experience it?
A : By merging the mind in the Heart

Q : How the mind is merged in the Heart?

A : By fixing one’s total attention and by focusing the “mental gaze” on the Heart

Q : When the mind is merged in the Self, what does one experience?
A : Undisturbed Peace, Happiness and Freedom

Q : I do not find that Happiness

A : Because you are mistaking it for pleasure

Q : What is pleasure?
A : It originates in the mind with the help of the senses. It has a beginning and an end. But bliss
is ever-present, no coming and going.

Q : How to find it ?
A : By making the mind as pure and transparent as the empty space

Q :What is wrong with seeking pleasure?

A : Pleasure is often mixed with pain. It is dependent on an object. Even if one gets it, that won’t
last long.

Q : Is God partial ?
A : Never

Q : Why am I suffering like this with all sorts of fear and mental agitations ?
A : By your projecting all sorts of thoughts and by reaping what you have already sown.

Q : How can I be free from sorrow?

A : By remaining in the thought-free state

Q : How can I find God and receive His Grace ?

A : You are seeing God all the time, still you do not recognize Him ! He is all the time right
before you ! His Grace is never withheld.

Q : How can I be free from tension?

A : By letting go and letting God.

4
Q : How to live to benefit mankind?
A : By loving one and all and by extending your compassion to all creatures

Q : How can I help the world and humanity ?

A : By not disturbing the peace of others, by not causing sorrow to another and by being
perfectly harmless.

Q : How can I receive God’s Grace ?

A : By making the mind empty of thoughts and by being quiet, silent, open and receptive.

Q : Your look seems to be different from the look of others. It is like cutting deep into one’s
mind.
A : It is Jnana-drishti (look of Wisdom), it is impersonal Universal Vision. It is like looking at
everything trough a baby’s mind.

Q : Does this look help those whom you gaze at fore receiving your blessings ?
A : Yes, if you look at me with innocent eyes with a quiet and un-judging mind.

Q : How can one be as expansive as the limitless Universe ?

A : By constant self-awareness and by demolishing the barriers between man and God, the self
and the Self, I and Thou

Q : What does awareness do for us ?

A : Awareness (the impersonal Universal Vision) erases thoughts just as a recorded tape is
erased of its impressions and one gets an instant vision of the Eternal

Q : What kind of awareness is the best for a beginner ?

A : Start with simple self-awareness, The next step is to be aware of awareness. Then there is the
expanding awareness, the attentive awareness, the intense awareness with intensity of feelings
and above all, awareness with loving kindness (Divine Compassion). Being aware of awareness
brings Freedom and Happiness

Q : How to light one’s own lamp and remain as light unto oneself?
A : When the mind runs after various objects of thoughts, one’s energy is often wasted serving
no useful purpose. This also invites all sorts of problem in life. But when the outward-going
thoughts are turned inward to their Source in self-awareness, the light is turned on oneself in a
state of awakening and illumination. Thus the light is lit and one is able to remain as a light unto
oneself, shedding love and Compassion.

========== XXX =============

5
FOREWORD
Having known Swami Nirmalananda for over ten years, I deeply respect his profound Wisdom
and his serious and sincere concern for the sorry state of the world at present. Sharing his
conviction that the only cure will be a radical inner transformation taking place individual by
individual, it seems to me that publication of the following set of questions and answers may
provide a catalyst to spur a spiritual awakening in persons who are ready. These questions and
answers represent the distilled essence of many significant and profound verbal and non-verbal
interchanges between Swamiji and me. May they strike the spark in you that will enable you to
become a lamp unto yourself!
Prof Richard E.Mortensen pH.D
Los Angeles, California , U.S.A

Questions & Answers Part 2

Q : Tell, me Swamiji, what is God or Truth ?
A : It is the Ultimate, the Absolute and the Supreme that guides the destiny of all

Q : Is it the imagination of your mind or are you repeating what others have already said?
A : Never. One’s own search for Truth should lead one to it and should end in it. Otherwise the
mind will never be at rest.

Q : How did you begin with your search for Truth ?

A : Until one finds oneself, - the knowing of God or Truth should be the all consuming passion
of one’s life, goaded with thorough earnestness and transparent sincerity. When the Self-
Knowledge dawns, one becomes more dispassionate and disinterested.

Q : How does one know that there is nothing more to seek ?

A : When one comes to “see” something infinitely vast, greater than the mind, beyond thoughts,
one is face to face with it. Then one cannot go any further

Q : How does one abide in it?

A : By being aware of oneself, by seeing oneself from above and beyond.

Q : I am aware of myself. Yet I do not feel that vastness and limitlessness.

A : It is constant awareness in which thought are absent that takes one to the Infinite Reality, to
the Measureless Silence.

Q : How to become aware of it ?

A : With swiftness and sensitivity one should be aware, watchful, alert and attentive in which
there is not a trace of thought. Pure awareness is the nature of the Self. Awareness is already
present. You can only be aware, not become aware.

6
Q : Does thought play any part in being aware ?
A : No, one should be aware choice-lessly without choosing with the mind, without projecting
thoughts.

Q : What does one “see” when one does not choose with the mind or when the mind does not
project thoughts?
A : Pure Awareness, the Eternal Now.

Q : When one has a glimpse of the Absolute, how to make that vision wide, vast and constant?
A : By constant attention, by expanding awareness.

Q : Does the world exist in the Self or the Self in the world ?
A : Though the Self is everywhere, it would be more correct to say that the world is in the Self
because it is infinitely greater than the limited world.
Q : How to make the mind as pure and transparent as the space?
A : By being one with the Universe

Q : How to be one with the Universe ?

A : By being aware all the time

Q : What does one get by being aware ?

A : Peace that passeth the understanding. “I give you MY PEACE , not as the world gives it”
That kind of Peace which Christ gives.

Q : How to have Impersonal Universal Vision ?

A : By knowing and being the Self which is one and the same

Q : How does one know that one is abiding in the Self?

A : By being in a state of unknowing, in a state of non-recognition of anything

Q : As in sleep?
A : Yes, but in a wide awakened state with attentive awareness, not in the state of gross darkness
which overpowers one in sleep

Q : How to have a broad and Universal mind ?

By abiding in the Self and by the expanding vision of the Self in which all limitations of the
mind disappear

Q : In such a Universal Mind, what is the place of one’s own will and opinion ?
A : “Not my will, but thy Will be done”, as Christ said

7
Q : How to live in love and friendship with all ?
A : By living in constant companion-ship with this friendly Universe

Q : How to find bliss ? How to walk hand in hand with God ?

A : By loving the Self and abiding in it

Q : How to know the Self ?

A : By knowing the Unknown which cannot be known by the mind. One should go beyond the
cocksureness of the mind and intellect

Q : What is the state of the mind that lives in the tune with the Infinite ?
A : A state of unknowing. Too much of knowing creates only more problems. By stirring the
muddy water you don’t make it clear. So also do not stir up the mind with all sorts of thoughts

Q : Why cultivate friendship with Nature ?

A : When we are friendly with Nature, everything in the world becomes friendly to us

Q : How to love all ?

A : By loving the Eternal One who is in all

Q: How to live in a state of Universal benevolence ?

A : By loving the Self which is synonymous with the Universe

Q : How to live to benefit all ?

A : By loving the one in all

Q : What is the nature of Peace that you experience ?

A : Not the peace and silence of the grave but the harmony of this vast and wonderful Universe
which is not dead or inert, but, ever active and vibrant, yet very silent

Q : What is the use of mouth keeping silent if the mind is constantly chattering ?
A : No use, yet in a closed mouth the flies do not enter !

Q : How to live in rhythm with the Universe, in harmony with Nature ?

A : By making the mind as quiet and limitless as the space and by quietly abiding in it

Q : How to be a benefactor of all ?

A : By loving all and harming and hurting none

8
Q : How to be a whole and complete being ?
A : By loving the Universe and by being loved by it

Q : How to live in selflessness ?

A : By eradicating selfishness, by knowing and being the One who does not mismanage the
world and who looks after the need of all. When one is guided by Him, he will be provided by
Him.

Q : How to eradicate selfishness ?

A : By realizing that I am all in different forms, and therefore, that I should not harm others in
any manner

Q : How to find Happiness ?

A : By striving for Happiness, you will not find it

Q : Then what shall I do ?

A : When you remove the causes of unhappiness and sorrow, true happiness is found.

Q : What is the main cause for our unhappiness ?

A : Projecting all sorts of thought and seeing the thought-images on the mind screen

Q : How to promote peace on earth and goodwill towards all ?

A : By living a way of life that brings peace and by spreading that peace just like a flower gives
out its sweetness and fragrance

Q : How to love all living beings in the world ?

A : By loving the one who is in all

Q : Will this kind of loving the One make me and others more happy ?
A : yes. Love is gentle, but powerful

Q : How to remain unattached and unaffected ?

A : By hiding in the Self in a state of knowing nothing

Q : How to be one with God ?

A : By removing the clouds and impurities of the mind and making it subtle, sensitive and
spotless

Q : How to make mind pure and unblemished ?

A : By constant attentive awareness

9
Q : How to know that I am you only in a different body ?
A : By knowing the essence and substance in all

Q : How to remove the waves of thoughts which the mind throws up continually one after
another ?
A : By awareness and attentive watchfulness

Q : How to find joy and fulfillment in life ?

A : By ceasing to cherish thoughts and opinions

Q : How to be more kind and compassionate for all ?

A : By knowing that all life is one and that life is dear to all

Q : How to eradicate sexual passions ?

A : By refusing to nurse thoughts on sex, by not feeding the fire of the urge with the fuel of
desire

Q : How to control the mind ?

A : By erasing thoughts on the mind

Q : How to remove the inner restlessness and mental agitations ?

A : By constant meditation, by sweeping and removing the accumulated dirt on ythe mind

Q : Tell me more about the nature of bliss which you experience ?

A : A sense of being perfectly peaceful and happy. Bliss is subtle and serene, free from all
contaminations of the mind.

Q : Is it present in the Self, in one-self ?

A : This never ending Joy comes from the Self only. All other kinds of enjoyment and pleasure
are also derived from the Self but possible through the medium of an object whereas this
ineffable Happiness can be tapped at any moment

Q : Can one store it up in the store-house of memory and then remember and think of it later ?
A : This experience can not be stored in the memory, but experienced from moment to moment
in the living Present

Q: How to experience it ?
A : By making the mind ever more subtle, swift and sensitive

10
Q : How to end thoughts and remain in thoughts-free state ?
A : By merging the mind in the Self

Q : What does one get by ending thoughts ?

A : The ending of thought is the beginning of Wisdom

Q : I want to be more clear about the mind, thought and the Self
A : The Self does not think, thoughts are alien to its nature. It is the mind that thinks. When the
mind is merged in the Self, one is in the thought-free and the effortless state of peace and
Happiness

Q : How can one experience this never ending bliss ?

A : By constant practice of alertness and attention until the mind becomes as sensitive and
transparent as the space

Q : When shall I practice it?

A : No fixed time and place are necessary for looking to oneself and one’s mind with attention
and awareness

Q : Is any belief in God necessary as an aid to the practice ?

A : No belief in God is required

Q : In this state, does one give much interest to various happenings in the world and society ?
A : Only a casual interest. Various happenings are taking place all the time all over the world.
One’s mind should not remain occupied with them

Q : Which is better ? To have an international outlook or the Universal outlook ?

A : Certainly the Universal outlook. It is the expanding awareness that brings it about

Q : What should be one’s main goal in life ?

A : Knowing oneself and experiencing Peace that brings Joy

Q : What is the highest form of meditation ?

A : Meditation without mental activity

Q : How is the truth of everything to be seen ?

A : By seeing as thy are without any distortions of the mind, either in favour or against

11
Q : What is your Message to mankind ?
A : Love alone can dispel the present madness of hate. “Let your light (of love) so shine, before
all “ as Christ asks us, that there may be evermore bright and radiating light which hatred cannot
over-shadow. When the Heart rules the mind, life has altogether a different quality and
dimension.

=== XXX ===

EPILOGUE
= Swami Nirmalananda
The great Zen masters advise : “Do not discuss right and wrong, good and bad” By dividing the
mind as “for “ or “against” , in a split second we set apart, two opposing worlds : a world of
heaven and a world of hell. Sri Sankara asks us to go beyond the pairs of opposites in order to
have the non-dual vision of the Absolute. What is right according to one may be wrong
according to another. One Our judgment, belief and reasoning based on the mind and the senses
cannot be dependent upon for verifying the process of our self-observation and for discovering
the Truth for ourselves. Our likes and dislikes interfere with our clear observation and distort our
judgment. If I like you, I do not see any fault in you. But if I dislike you, I see nothing good in
you. The actual fact may be something else. That is why Christ asks us not to judge others. Our
mind, beliefs, opinions, judgments and values thus remain clouded, distorted and prejudiced.
Unless the mind is turned within, our preferences and prejudices , like convex and concave
lenses, distort our perceptions, judgments and conclusions. Who is to judge that my belief or
opinion is right and that your belief or opinion is wrong ? The Sage who lives by Truth with a
heart of unlimited Compassion and Universal benevolence, would say not to rely on our mind,
senses and even on our reasoning for the discovery of Truth, for spirituality begins where
reasoning ends. Reasoning, analysis and playing with various philosophies, ideologies and
beliefs, constructed by the mind, are like removing the petals and destroying the beauty, texture
and fragrance of a flower.
The Kingdom of God is within, s Christ tells us. Therefore, we need to look within our mind and
heart instead of various objects and happenings outside. The awakening process of a person
starts according to Buddha when his mind is awakened by resting in nowhere, by intense self-
observation, awareness and attention. The image-making faculties of the mind have to be
checked all the time so that recurring mental agitations that cause restlessness, disgust and
unhappiness in life may cease.
The mind is a double-edged weapon and people use it all the time in their everyday life. If not
carefully handled, it will cut both themselves and others causing grievous injuries.
The Universe is moving harmoniously in accordance with a well-ordained plan and it needs no
corrections or rectifications. Being one with it, when we move in rhythm with this moving
Universe , we find to our amazement that there is nothing to correct or change in the working of
the Universe, the world and society except our mind, our way of thinking and the angle of our
vision:

12
The poet rightly says :
“ God is in His Heaven
All is right with the world “
As one’s own mind is often faulty, one should learn to correct oneself, not others. The wise
control themselves where as others are controlled by society. When we transgress the laws of
Heaven, we pay the penalty by inviting problems for ourselves and for others. By rocking the
boat, we not only endanger our own life but also the lives of many others.

The Seer “sees” and in that impersonal universal vision he finds his unity, one-ness and
fulfillment in life without getting involved in anything. Nor does he interfere in the affairs of
others who act according to their different tendencies, reasoning-s and stages of development
over which we have no control.

Feeding the hungry, educating the illiterates, healing the sick and other philanthropic activities
may be necessary in society. Still greater is the need to get awakened , to adjust one’s own mind
and to change one’s angle of vision so that one may not become an instrument of terror, mischief
and misery in causing untold harm to oneself and others. The poor and the needy, we will always
have, but an enlightened soul is a rare blessing on earth. Even one single enlightened person
anywhere in the world is like a lighthouse of humanity !
= Swami Nirmalananda

==== XXX ==
Inside Back page of booklet
Q : How to perform Tapas (austerities) and Ugra-Tapas (intense austerities) ?
A : Fanning and feeding the inner fire is Tapas. This is done in the sitting position, spine erect. A
running person, with the attention diverted , cannot do Tapas. The heart has to be stirred
constantly with the mind. The attention being united with one’s breath, fan the fire gently all the
time and also feed it with the fuel of pure emotion. When this is done with single-minded
purpose, devotion , dedication and total sincerity, the heating up process is intensified. This is
Ugra-Tapas.

=== XXX ====

Available at website, Vivekananda.net,
SWAMI NIRMALANANDA HIS LIFE AND TEACHINGS
www.vivekananda.net/PDFBooks/Nirmalananda.pdf
Swami Purushottamananda (of Vasishta Guha) from his very young age was guided and
groomed by Swami Nirmalananda

13
14