Sean and Michael discuss the present moment, ‘I am’, ‘direct path’ and ‘progressive path’

In a Zoom meeting on 21st January 2021 Sean and Michael discuss various aspects of Bhagavan Ramana’s teachings, including the present moment, mindfulness, self-attentiveness, ‘I am’, egolessness, dispassion, compassion, ahiṁsā, the ethics of drinking milk, abortion, morality, guru, the cow Lakshmi, free will, destiny, self-investigation, heart, centre, turning 180 degrees within to face ourself, silence, social reform, Mahatma Gandhi, caste system, neo-advaita, the false distinction between the ‘direct path’ and the ‘progressive path’ (since the real direct path, namely self-investigation, is one that we need to progress along), citta-vṛtti nirōdhaḥ (restrining mental activity), stopping thoughts, manōlaya (temporary dissolution of mind) and nirvikalpa samādhi. During this discussion Michael discusses or refers to the following passages from his writings: