apply on a practical level because of their highly abstract nature.This problem confronts anyone trying to work with a system having an Advaita Vedantinfoundation.Controlling the outgoing (extroverted) mind of the senses is fundamental to any yogic system. Ifwe are an intuitive-intellectual type of personality, the path of jnana yoga might possess atremendous appeal. Whereas, if we are emotionally oriented, the highly abstract nature of a jnanayoga method might strike us as being cold and lifeless.Sooner or later we have got to learn to directly study and experience the fact that we have nocontrol over our minds. We cannot control our own thoughts for even a minute without havingour awareness richocheting off on an endless series of tangential diversions. Genuine applicationof jnana yoga confirms the fact that we are slaves to sensory input projected onto our minds.Unless we have diligently studied the mechanics of the mind through meditation we will neverknow how fragmented and dissipated our mental focus actually is. The analogy of the mind asbeing like an uncontrollable monkey swinging from branch to branch (from sense object to sense 1979 TAT Foundation. All rights reserved.7Reprinted with permission. TAT Journal Vol. 2, No. 1object) is a classic example of Indian philosophy's attempt to convey the fickle and sensory-grasping nature of all human awareness. The senses are constantly bombarding ourconsciousness with an endless array of impressions which immediately impinge upon ourawareness, with predictably negative results.Ramana Maharshi claimed that ultimately the mind and the ego do not exist (in the sense that weusually view them). For him, only the Self was Real. Now this position might sound tantalizingto our ears, but we are confronted by the seemingly insurmountable task of trying to actuallybecome that realized awareness. The only viable alternative is to begin a rigorous disciplining ofour chaotic minds as a starting point for spiritual practice. We cannot successfully just jump intoa direct-enquiry analysis of consciousness without previous training in mental concentration. Thedistinction between indirect versus a direct method of meditation (as previously discussed in thisessay) is very real in fact, but one should realize that the concurrent use of both methods mightbe necessary for a period of time until an unshakeable power of mental energy is harnessedwhich will enable one to relentlessly pursue an intense self-analysis of one's mind withoutsurrendering from fatigue at the first sign of resistance from the relative ego(s). Vichara (self-enquiry) must become a continuous, unbroken mental current "for the ego will try to make atruce with this current of awareness and if it is once tolerated it will gradually grow to power andthen fight to recover supremacy." 20Concentrative ability (often called "samadhi power" in the Hindu tradition) is the fundamentalmeditation skill whose importance cannot be overemphasized.Those of us who might be telling ourselves that we know how to regulate our thinking, had bettertake another long, hard look at the deeply-engrained, mechanical and uncontrollable nature ofawareness.Ramana Maharshi died in 1950 at his ashram in Tiruvannamalai. An important consideration is,did he transmit his Realization to any of his disciples before his mahasamadhi (final absorptionin the Self at the time of death)? If