Nirguna Manasa Puja (Worship of the Attributeless One in the Mind) [Paperback]

Adi Sankara (Author), H. Ramamoorthy (Translator), Nome (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1990

Composed by the great sage of Advaita Vedanta, Adi Sankara, this work gives an exposition of the symbols of puja (worship) in light of Nonduality. Written as a dialogue between a disciple and a Guru, the disciple first asks, "What manner of worship is prescribed for the One existing as undivided Being-Consciousness-Bliss with no second, without misconceptions, and of one nature?" He then asks similar questions about the details of such in the context of utmost Nonduality, and, starting with the ninth verse, the Guru replies in the light of the Knowledge of that utmost Nonduality.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

The late Dr. H. Ramamoorthy was a foremost Sanskrit scholar and expert in Tamil. He was renowned for his humility, subtle humor, devotion, and a superlative clarity of expression even when dealing with the loftiest Hindu scriptural texts. During the period from 1989 to 2001, Dr. H. Ramamoorthy and Nome worked in close collaboration to translate numerous Advaita Vedanta texts, from Sanskrit and Tamil, into English.

Nome is a spiritual teacher at Society of Abidance in Truth, known by the acronym SAT, which established and maintains a temple for Nondual Self-Knowledge in California. Nome teaches Advaita Vedanta, especially as is contained in the teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. These teachings are those found in traditional Advaita Vedanta as expounded by Adi Sankaracharya, Ribhu, and the Upanishads. Nome is a teacher of this spiritual knowledge, an author of the same, and a translator of Vedanta texts.

Product Details

• Paperback: 84 pages
• Publisher: Society of Abidance in Truth; First Edition edition (January 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0970366752
• ISBN-13: 978-0970366757
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,833,207 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Nome, a sage who practiced self-inquiry for steady abidance in Self-Realization, is a spiritual teacher at Society of Abidance in Truth, known by the acronym SAT, which established and maintains a temple for Nondual Self-Knowledge in California. Nome teaches Advaita Vedanta, especially as is contained in the teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. These teachings are those found in traditional Advaita Vedanta as expounded by Adi Sankaracharya, Ribhu, and the Upanishads. Nome is a teacher of this spiritual knowledge, an author of the same, and a translator of Vedanta texts.

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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Worship of the Formless, using forms?, August 6, 2008

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Stanley Rice - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Nirguna Manasa Puja (Worship of the Attributeless One in the Mind) (Paperback)

How to worship the formless in any form puzzles many of us. Gaudapada, Sankara's Guru's Guru, says in his karika on the Mandukya Upanisad (III, 36): "Brahman is birthless, sleepless, dreamless, nameless, formless, ever effulgent, everything, and a knower. (With regard to It) there is not the least possibility of ceremony."

In this hitherto untranslated dialog a disciple inquires into the highest significance of traditional forms of ceremonial worship (puja) and the Guru explains. Appreciation of Sankara's explanations is not dependent on familiarity with Hindu rituals themselves--the waving of incense and lights, offering of food, true listening and reflection, and so on. Here are a couple of samples.

-- What is the need of waving incense (dhupa) before the taintless and of waving light (dipa) for one who is the Witness of all? What shall be the cooked food (naivedya) for one who is completely satisfied with his own Bliss? (Verse 5)

--Listening (sravana) to that deva (diety) is the understanding that the heard is non-existent. Reflection (manana) on the Atmalinga is the understanding that there is nothing upon which to reflect. (Verse 29)

--The Knowledge of the non-existence of anything upon which to meditate is the profound meditation on the Self. Abidance in the Self is to be free of all errors and misconceptions. (Verse 30)

Sri Ramana Maharshi helps us to understand further: "Worshipping the formless reality by unthought thought is the best kind of worship. But when one is not fit for such formless worship of God, worship of form alone is suitable. Formless worship is possible only for people who are devoid of the ego-form. Know that all the worship done by people who possess the ego-form is only worship of form."


Again, we are very thankful to SAT for the careful preservation of such materials as these.