Hunting the'I', 1

[Guest guest]

Dear All,

Lucie Cornelssen's book Hunting the 'I' gives many good approches

to self enquiry and also good explanations to the spiritual path in general

as taught by Ramana Maharshi.

 

On 2 Ramana-groups I have started to post out of Hunting the 'I'-, so this is not new

to members from there. But I think it's worthy to be posted here also. -

Comments welcome!

 

First let's have a short look on who she was:

 

Lucie Cornelssen was born in Germany at the end of the 19th century.

During the second world war the only German book on Sri Ramana which was available was

from the Indologist Heinrich Zimmer "Der Weg zum Selbst" which made

great impression on her. She felt very much drawn to Bhagavan and

decided to utilize her linguistic and writing talents (she was a professional writer )

to translate more of Sri Bhagavan's words into German.

With no Tamil teacher to help her, she spent two years in an hermitage in a German forest.

When she finally felt able to read and understand the Tamil, she translated some

of Ramana's teaching into German.

 

In the Fiftieth she decided to make a pilgrimage to Arunachala and took

her manuscripts with her. She laid the manuscript on

Bhagavan's samadhi. Soon afterwards a German publisher was interested in

and the book came out.

She spent several months living alone in a small shrine near the Pradakshina

road, a few miles from the Ashram spending her time with sadhana.

Later she stayed near Ramanashram and was a well known figure there.

Besides a short Ramana-Biography and translations of the Talks in German

she wrote "Hunting the 'I', which appeared in English and German edition.

Here she also gives some practical advice and explanations on self inquiry.

 

in Sri Ramana

Gabriele

 

****************************************************************************************

 

This pure be-ing 'I am' is the first glimpse of the real

'I', the Self, which is by nature Pure Consciousness.

 

When your attention is keen, then you will discover

simultanously that there is not now and never has been

a wrong 'I'. It has always been the same 'real I', only your

mind has covered it up with the idea which it has about

your 'person'.

 

There are other opportunities, when we could experience this

pure 'I' consciously. One such is during the tiny gap between

two thoughts, when the attention has given up its hold on one

thought and not yet caught the next one. But since we never

tried our attention is not trained this way, and we will hardly

succeed in the attempt.

 

There is a better chance to catch it between sleeping and awaking.

It is very important to try it, if you are serious in your hunting the 'I'.

Take care of a few conditions: Try at night just before you fall

asleep to keep as the last thought your intention to catch as

the first thing of all on waking in the morning the experience

of your true 'I'.

 

Another condition: You should take care not to awaken too abruptly

such as by an alarm clock, and also not to jump headlong into your

daily morning routine. The moment you awake, don't stir, but

remember your intention from last night.

 

You will succeed after a few attempts. And what is possible once

even for a moment can be extended by practice.

 

This experiment gives you the advantage that you now know the

aim of your endeavour. It will help you in your further sadhana like

leavening in the dough.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lucy Cornelssen: Hunting the 'I', p. 25f

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

to be continued