become one with the Self of all

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The Teachings of BhagavanSri Ramana Maharshiin His Own WordsCHAPTER ONEDEATH AND RE-BIRTHSometimes it was not a question of reincarnation but grievingover the death of a loved one. A lady who had come fromNorth India asked Bhagavan whether it was possible to knowthe posthumous state of an individual.Bhagavan: It is possible, but why try. Such facts are only as real asthe person who seeks them.Lady: The birth of a person and his life and death are realto us.B.: Because you wrongly identify yourself with the body,you think of the other also as a body. Neither you nor he isthe body.L.: But from my own level of understanding, I regardmyself and my son as real.B.: The birth of the `I'-thought is a person's birth and itsdeath is his death. After the `I'-thought has arisen, the wrongidentification with the body arises. Identifying yourself withthe body makes you falsely identify others also with their bodies.Just as your body was born and grows and will die, so you thinkthe other also was born, grew and died. Did you think of yourson before he was born? The thought came after his birth andcontinues even after his death. He is your son only insofar asyou think of him. Where has he gone? To the source from whichhe sprang. So long as you continue to exist, he does too. But ifyou cease to identify yourself with the body and realise the trueSelf, this confusion will vanish. You are eternal and others alsowill be found to be eternal. Until this is realised there will alwaysbe grief due to false values which are caused by wrong knowledgeand wrong identification.1On the death of King George V, two devotees werediscussing the matter in the hall and seemed upset. Bhagavansaid: What is it to you who dies or is lost? Die yourself and belost, becoming one with the Self of all (on the ego's extinction).21 Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, 276.2 Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, 236.