Fw: [RamanaMaharshi] Annamalai Swami : Final talks

May 2, 2002

- rishi40_m

Thursday, May 02, 2002 9:39 AM

[RamanaMaharshi] Re: Annamalai Swami : Final talks

Annamalai Swami: Mind is just a shadow. Attempts to catchit and

control it are futile. They are just shadows chasingshadows. You

can't control or eliminate a shadow by chasing itor by putting a

shadow hand on it. These are just children'sgames.Ram Tirtha once

told a story about a small boy who ran downthe street, trying to

catch up with the head of his shadow. Henever managed because no

matter how fast he ran, the shadowof his head was always a few feet

ahead of him.His mother, who was watching him and laughing, called

out,'Put your hand on your head!'When the boy followed this

instruction, the shadow handcaught up with the shadow head. This was

enough to satisfy theboy.This kind of advice may be enough to keep

children happy,but it won't produce satisfactory results in the realm

ofsadhanaand meditation. Don't chase your shadow thoughts and

yourshadow mind with mind-control techniques because thesetechniques

are also shadows. Instead, go back to the source ofthe shadow-mind

and stay there. When you abide in that place,you will be happy, and

the desire to go chasing after shadowthoughts will no longer be

there.Bhagavan often told the story of a man who tried to get rid

ofhis shadow by burying it in a pit. This man dug a hole and

thenstood on the edge of it in such a way that his shadow was caston

the bottom of the hole he had just made. After lining it up in.this

way, he started throwing soil on the shadow in an attemptto bury it.

Of course, no matter how much soil he put in thehole, the shadow

still remained on top of it.Your mind is an insubstantial shadow that

will follow youaround wherever you go. Attempts to eliminate or

control itcannot succeed while there is still a belief that the mind

is real,and that it is something that can be controlled by physical

ormental activity.Annamalai Swami : Final talks by David Godman2002

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