The
earlier post in which Swami has explained the “Real I”, is so complete in
itself that there are no expressions further to explain anything.
Still, when the content
is on “I”, let us go through the following relevant extract on “I” from the
writing of Sri Ramana Maharishi on “who am I”
“As all living beings desire to be happy always, without misery, as in the case of everyone there is observed supreme love for one’s self, and as happiness alone is the cause for love, in order to gain that happiness which is one’s nature and which is experienced in the state of deep sleep where there is no mind, one should know one’s self. For that, the path of knowledge, the inquiry of the form “Who am I?”, is the principal means.
1. Who am I ?
The gross body which is
composed of the seven humours (dhatus), I am not; the five cognitive sense
organs, viz. the senses of hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell, which
apprehend their respective objects, viz. sound, touch, color, taste, and odour,
I am not; the five cognitive sense organs, viz. the organs of speech,
locomotion, grasping, excretion, and procreation, which have as their
respective functions speaking, moving, grasping, excreting, and enjoying, I am
not; the five vital airs, prana, etc., which perform respectively the five
functions of in-breathing, etc., I am not;
even the mind which
thinks, I am not; the nescience too, which is endowed only with the residual
impressions of objects, and in which there are no objects and no functioning’s,
I am not.
2. If I am none of these, then who am I?
After negating all of
the above-mentioned as ‘not this’, ‘not this’, that Awareness which alone
remains - that I am.
3. What is the nature of Awareness?
The nature of Awareness
is existence-consciousness-bliss
4. When will the realization of the Self be gained?
When the world which is
what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realization of the Self which is
the seer.
5. Will there not be realization of the Self even while the world
is there (taken as real)?
There will not be.
6. Why?
The seer and the object
seen are like the rope and the snake. Just as the knowledge of the rope which
is the substrate will not arise unless the false knowledge of the illusory
serpent goes, so the realization of the Self which is the substrate will not be
gained unless the belief that the world is real is removed.
7. When will the world which is the object seen be removed?
When the mind, which is
the cause of all cognition’s and of all actions, becomes quiescent, the world
will disappear.
8. What is the nature of the mind?
What is called ‘mind’ is
a wondrous power residing in the Self. It causes all thoughts to arise.
Apart from thoughts,
there is no such thing as mind. Therefore, thought is the nature of mind. Apart
from thoughts, there is no independent entity called the world. In deep sleep
there are no thoughts, and there is no world. In the states of waking and
dream, there are thoughts, and there is a world also.
Just as the spider emits
the thread (of the web) out of itself and again withdraws it into itself,
likewise the mind projects the world out of itself and again resolves it into
itself. When the mind comes out of the Self, the world appears. Therefore, when
the world appears (to be real), the Self does not appear; and when the Self appears
(shines) the world does not appear. When one persistently inquires into the
nature of the mind, the mind will end leaving the Self (as the residue).
What is referred to as
the Self is the Atman. The mind always exists only in dependence on something
gross; it cannot stay alone. It is the mind that is called the subtle body or
the soul (jiva).
9. What is the path of inquiry for understanding the nature of the
mind?
That which rises as ‘I’
in this body is the mind. If one inquires as to where in the body the thought
‘I’ rises first, one would discover that it rises in the heart. That is the
place of the mind’s origin.
Even if one thinks
constantly ‘I’ ‘I’, one will be led to that place. Of all the thoughts that
arise in the mind, the ‘I’ thought is the first. It is only after the rise of
this that the other thoughts arise. It is after the appearance of the first
personal pronoun that the second and third personal pronouns appear; without
the first personal pronoun there will not be the second and third.
10. How will the mind become quiescent?
By the inquiry ‘Who am
I?’. The thought ‘who am I?’ will destroy all other thoughts, and like the
stick used for stirring the burning pyre, it will itself in the end get
destroyed. Then, there will arise Self-realization.
11. What is the means for constantly holding on to the thought ‘Who
am I?’
When other thoughts
arise, one should not pursue them, but should inquire: ‘To whom do they arise?’
It does not matter how many thoughts arise. As each thought arises, one should
inquire with diligence, “To whom has this thought arisen?”. The answer that would
emerge would be “To me”. Thereupon if one inquires “Who am I?”, the mind will
go back to its source; and the thought that arose will become quiescent. With
repeated practice in this manner, the mind will develop the skill to stay in
its source.
When the mind that is
subtle goes out through the brain and the sense organs, the gross names and
forms appear; when it stays in the heart, the names and forms disappear.
Not letting the mind go
out, but retaining it in the Heart is what is called “inwardness” (antarmukha).
Letting the mind go out of the Heart is known as “externalisation”
(bahir-mukha).
Thus, when the mind
stays in the Heart, the ‘I’ which is the source of all thoughts will go, and
the Self which ever exists will shine. Whatever one does, one should do without
the egoity “I”. If one acts in that way, all will appear as of the nature of
Siva (God).
12. Are there no other means for making the mind quiescent?
Other than inquiry,
there are no adequate means. If through other means it is sought to control the
mind, the mind will appear to be controlled, but will again go forth. Through
the control of breath also, the mind will become quiescent; but it will be
quiescent only so long as the breath remains controlled, and when the breath
resumes the mind also will again start moving and will wander as impelled by
residual impressions. The source is the same for both mind and breath.
Thought, indeed, is the
nature of the mind. The thought “I” is the first thought of the mind; and that
is egoity. It is from that whence egoity originates that breath also
originates. Therefore, when the mind becomes quiescent, the breath is
controlled, and when the breath is controlled the mind becomes quiescent.
But in deep sleep,
although the mind becomes quiescent, the breath does not stop. This is because
of the will of God, so that the body may be preserved and other people may not
be under the impression that it is dead. In the state of waking and in samadhi,
when the mind becomes quiescent the breath is controlled.
Breath is the gross form
of mind. Till the time of death, the mind keeps breath in the body; and when
the body dies the mind takes the breath along with it. Therefore, the exercise
of breath-control is only an aid for rendering the mind quiescent
(manonigraha); it will not destroy the mind (manonasa).
Like the practice of
breath-control. meditation on the forms of God, repetition of mantras,
restriction on food, etc., are but aids for rendering the mind quiescent.
Through meditation on
the forms of God and through repetition of mantras, the mind becomes
onepointed. The mind will always be wandering. Just as when a chain is given to
an elephant to hold in its trunk it will go along grasping the chain and
nothing else, so also when the mind is occupied with a name or form it will
grasp that alone.
When the mind expands in
the form of countless thoughts, each thought becomes weak; but as thoughts get
resolved the mind becomes one-pointed and strong; for such a mind Self-inquiry
will become easy. Of all the restrictive rules, that relating to the taking of
sattvic food in moderate quantities is the best; by observing this rule, the
sattvic quality of mind will increase, and that will be helpful to
Self-inquiry.
13. The residual impressions (thoughts) of objects appear wending
like the waves of an ocean.
When will all of them get destroyed?
As the meditation on the
Self rises higher and higher, the thoughts will get destroyed.
14. Is it possible for the residual impressions of objects that come
from beginningless time, as it were, to be resolved, and for one to remain as
the pure Self?
Without yielding to the
doubt “Is it possible, or not?”, one should persistently hold on to the
meditation on the Self. Even if one be a great sinner, one should not worry and
weep “O! I am a sinner, how can I be saved?”; one should completely renounce the
thought “I am a sinner”; and concentrate keenly on meditation on the Self;
then, one would surely succeed.
There are not two minds
- one good and the other evil; the mind is only one. It is the residual
impressions that are of two kinds - auspicious and inauspicious. When the mind
is under the influence of auspicious impressions it is called good; and when it
is under the influence of inauspicious impressions it is regarded as evil.
The mind should not be
allowed to wander towards worldly objects and what concerns other people.
However bad other people may be, one should bear no hatred for them. Both
desire and hatred should be eschewed. All that one gives to others one gives to
one’s self. If this truth is understood who will not give to others? When one’s
self arises all arises; when one’s self becomes quiescent all becomes
quiescent. To the extent we behave with humility, to that extent there will
result good. If the mind is rendered quiescent, one may live anywhere.
15. How long should inquiry be practised?
As long as there are
impressions of objects in the mind, so long the inquiry “Who am I?” is
required. As thoughts arise they should be destroyed then and there in the very
place of their origin, through inquiry. If one resorts to contemplation of the
Self unintermittently, until the Self is
gained, that alone would
do. As long as there are enemies within the fortress, they will continue to
sally forth; if they are destroyed as they emerge, the fortress will fall into
our hands.
16. What is the nature of the Self?
What exists in truth is
the Self alone. The world, the individual soul, and God are appearances in it.
like silver in mother-of-pearl, these three appear at the same time, and
disappear at the same time. The Self is that where there is absolutely no “I”
thought. That is called “Silence”. The Self itself is the world; the Self
itself is “I”; the Self itself is God; all is Siva, the Self.
17. Is not everything the work of God?
Without desire, resolve,
or effort, the sun rises; and in its mere presence, the sun-stone emits fire,
the lotus blooms, water evaporates; people perform their various functions and
then rest. Just as in the presence of the magnet the needle moves, it is by
virtue of the mere presence of God that the souls governed by the three
(cosmic) functions or the fivefold divine activity perform their actions and
then rest, in accordance with their respective karmas. God has no resolve; no
karma attaches itself to Him. That is like worldly actions not affecting the
sun, or like the merits and demerits of the other four elements not affecting
all pervading space.
18. Of the devotees, who is the greatest?
He who gives himself up
to the Self that is God is the most excellent devotee. Giving one’s self up to
God means remaining constantly in the Self without giving room for the rise of
any thoughts other than that of the Self. Whatever burdens are thrown on God,
He bears them. Since the supreme power of God makes all things move, why should
we, without submitting ourselves to it, constantly worry ourselves with
thoughts as to what should be done and how, and what should not be done and how
not? We know that the train carries all loads, so after getting on it why
should we carry our small luggage on our head to our discomfort, instead of
putting it down in the train and feeling at ease?”
Love.
