RE-post: All is One (Favorite of Sri Ramana)

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Ellam Ondre (All is One)

Dear friends, it is well known that Sri Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi took

particular interest in the study of this small Tamil book, Ellam

Ondre (All is One). From the Maharshi Newsletters, I have selected

certain passages you might enjoy and reflect

on...........................Harsha

Truly speaking, He whom you regard as your mortal enemy is your

friend. He knows how to make you worthy of true greatness and

blessings. Surrender to Him. This Universal Ego does not treat you as

an enemy but is your greatest benefactor.

4. By no means can you discover what He will make of you unless you

surrender yourself to Him. However much I may speak of it, you cannot

understand. It is a matter of experience. Doubtless He will do nothing

less than exalt you to His state. Therefore, be not perplexed about

your future; directly surrender yourself. You can always turn away if

joy does not overtake you from the very instant of surrender. Just as

the drinking of milk starts with an agreeable taste and ends with the

satisfaction of hunger, so also surrender starts with delight and ends

with Perfect Bliss, which lies beyond even pleasure and pain.

Therefore your goal, without doubt, is this Universal Ego

(I-am-Brahman).

5. What will be your new name after surrender? There is no name

besides yours. The Vedas laud you; the world praises you; the essence

of religious teachings is yourself. Then what is your form? All forms

are yours. There is no form which is not yours. What is installed in

the temples of worship is you; what is described in the Vedas is you;

festivities and celebrations are all for you. Now what can be your

power? In your presence the world is active; each is what it is,

because of you. Briefly said, all things glorify you and bear witness

to your being. They are duty bound to do so. You would not have even

dreamt that this will be your state. Start at once, be not

self-conceited. The Universal Ego awaits you.

6. Do you wish to wake up from your dream or continue in it? How long

will the dream images last? Be not idle, shake off your sleep, wake

up! You are witnessing your own mental images and imagining more and

more. It is all in vain. Just find out who it is that sees the

visions. Do not delude yourself that you are these that rise and sink

in you. Wake up. The instant you wake up you will know that waking is

better than this dream. Get up! The Universal Ego waits to rejoice at

seeing you awake.

7. Fear not the cessation of the present ego dream. Once you are awake

you will enjoy the same all the more. You will no longer be deluded

and will observe it with cheerful detachment, unconfused. The folly

of all appearances will be understood and you will have no burdens.

In dream your mental imagery assumes shapes. On waking you know the

dream as just a dream. Do not mistake dream for the waking state.

Know the dream as dream. For doing so, you must reach the state of

"I-am-Brahman" (Universal Ego) and wake from the illusion of the ego.

 

8. I have instructed you for your good and not in my own interest. If

you believe me, you should act upon what I have taught you. On the

other hand, if you see no good in what I have said, then turn away

from this ideal. How can I help you if my advice and all the advice

of the saints do not make any impression on you? No state is higher

than this. Believe me, it is for your good that you realize this

truth; and through you others may realize the same. Be free from

self-conceit. Start at once. Realize that the Universal Ego is your

own.

9 Oh ego, see how you are a slave to all and therefore suffer. How

pitiable is your state! All are hostile to you! When you say "for me

only," all others will also contend "for me only, for me only". When

you say "I am great," they protest, "Why? We are also." All are

hostile to you. Owing to the troubles caused by others, your mental

images increase a million fold. Should you not rise above them and

profit by surrendering to a Master? Then all your enemies will

befriend you. If you say to others, "All these are yours," everyone

becomes your friend. There is only One who can make you that

magnanimous and that is "I-am-Brahman" (Universal Ego).

10. I shall say one word only and this is not owing to my egoism. It

is simply my duty. I do not say this word just for your or my good

alone. It is for the good of all. The truth is "I-am-Brahman"

(Universal Ego).