"'I', 'I'" - extracts from Ramana...

[Guest guest]

Talk 72.

Mr. K. S. N. Iyer, a railway officer, asked about japa.

 

M.: The utterance and then remembrance and later meditation are the

successive stages finally ending in involuntary and eternal japa. The

japakarta (doer of japa) of that kind is the Self. Of all the japas, 'Who am

I?' is the best.

 

(Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi)

 

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Enquiry, which constitutes the path of jnana, consists not in orally

repeating 'I' 'I', but in searching by means of a deeply introverted mind

wherefrom the 'I' springs. To think "I am not this' or 'I am that' may be of

help in the enquiry, but cannot be the actual enquiry. When we quest within

our mind 'Who am I?' and reach the Heart, 'I' topples down and immediately

another entity will reveal itself proclaiming 'I-I'. Even though it also

emerges saying 'I', it does not connote the ego, but the One Perfect

Existence. If we unceasingly investigate the form of the mind, we find there

is no such thing as the mind. This is the direct path open to all. Thoughts

alone constitute the mind, and for all thoughts the base or source is the

'I-thought'. 'I' is the mind. If we go inward questing for the source of the

'I', the 'I' topples down. This is the jnana enquiry. Where the 'I' merges,

another entity emerges as 'I-I' of its own accord. That is the Perfect Self.

 

(Gems from Bhagavan)

 

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D: How is one to enquire 'Who am I?'

 

M: Actions such as 'going' and 'coming' belong only to the body. And so,

when one says, 'I went, I came', it amounts to saying that the body is 'I'.

But, can the body be said to be the consciousness 'I', since the body was

not before it was born, is made up of the five elements, is nonexistent in

the state of deep sleep, and becomes a corpse when dead? Can this body

which is inert like a log of wood be said to shine as'I-I'? Therefore, the

'I-consciousness' which at first arises in respect of the body is referred

to variously as self-conceit (tarbodham), egoity (ahankara), nescience,

avidya), maya, impurity (mala), and individual soul (jiva). Can we remain

without enquiring into this? Is it not for our redemption through enquiry

that all the scriptures declare that the destruction of 'self-conceit' is

release (mukti)? Therefore, making the corpse-body remain as a corpse, and

not even uttering the word 'I', one should enquire keenly thus: "Now, what

is it that rises as 'I'?" Then, there would shine in the Heart a kind of

wordless illumination of the form 'I-I'. That is, there would shine of its

own accord the pure consciousness which is unlimited and one, the limited

and the many thoughts having disappeared. If one remains quiescent without

abandoning that (experience), the egoity, the individual sense, of the form

'I am the body' will be totally destroyed, and at the end the final

thought, viz., the 'I-form' also will be quenched like the fire that burns

camphor. The great sages and scriptures declare that this alone is release.

 

 

("Self Inquiry")

 

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C. - Is the I-I Consciousness Self-Realisation?

 

Bh. - It is a prelude to it: when it becomes permanent (Sahaja), it is

Self-Realisation, Liberation.

 

("Guru Ramana - Memories and Notes" by S. S. Cohen)

 

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30. When the mind turns inward seeking 'Who am I?' and merges in the Heart,

then the 'I' hangs down his head in shame and the One 'I' appears as Itself.

Though it appears as 'I-I', it is not the ego. It is Reality, Perfection,

the Substance of the Self.

 

(Reality in Forty Verses)

 

8. In the centre of the Heart-Cave there shines alone the one Brahman as the

'I-I', the Atman. Reach the Heart by diving deep in quest of the Self, or by

controlling the mind with the breath, and stay established in the Atman.

 

"Reality in Forty Verses - Supplement"

 

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Talk 430.

A Marathi gentleman asked: I have read much about Self-Realisation; I do

japa, puja, etc.; nothing seems to satisfy me. Can Sri Bhagavan kindly guide

me?

 

M.: What is that you seek to gain? Everyone seeks happiness. Happiness is

one's lot in everyday sleep. Bring about that state of happiness even in the

waking state. That is all.

D.: I do not follow. How is it to be done?

 

M.: Atma Vichara is the way.

 

D.: It seems too difficult to adopt, being so intangible. What shall I do if

I feel unfit for this method of enquiry?

 

M.: Guidance is there. It is for individuals to avail themselves of it.

 

(Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi)