Sri Ramana Maharshi - Who am I ? ( cont..3)

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In yesterday's post we saw the answers given by Bhagawan to the following questions:

 

1) Will there be realisation of the Self even while the world is there, and taken to be real ?

 

2) What is the nature of the mind ?

 

Now let us proceed to the next ......

 

Sri Ramana Maharshi - Who am I ?

 

Question: What is the path of enquiry for understanding the nature of the mind?

 

That which arises in the physical body as 'I' is the mind. If

one enquires, ' In what place in the body does this "I" first arise?'

it will be known to be in the 'hridayam' . That is the birthplace of

the mind. Even if one incessantly thinks 'I, I' ,it will lead to that

place. Of all thoughts that arise in the mind, the thought 'I' is the

first one. It is only after the rise of this [thought] that other

thoughts arise, It is only after the first personal pronoun arises

that the second and third personal pronouns appear. Without the first

person, the second and third persons cannot exist.

 

Question: How will the mind become quiescent ?

 

The mind will only subside by means of the enquiry 'Who am

I?' The thought 'Who am I?', destroying all other thoughts, will

itself be finally destroyed like the stick used for stirring the

funeral pyre.

 

......... to be

continued

[ Notes: It is interesting to read Sri.David Godman's commentary /

explanation on the term ' Hridayam '. He says ......

'Hridayam' is usually translated as 'Heart' , but it has no

connection with the physical heart. Bhagavan used it as a synonym for

the Self, pointing out on several occasions that it could be split up

into two parts, 'hrit' and 'ayam', which together mean, 'this is the

centre'. Sometimes he would say that the 'I' -thought arises from the

'hridyam' and eventually subsides there again. He would also sometimes

indicate that the spiritual Heart was inside the body on the right

aside of the chest, but he would often qualify this by saying that

this was only true from the standpoint of those who identified

themselves with a body. For a 'jnani',one who has realised the Self,

the 'hridayam' or Heart is not located anywhere, or even everywhere,

because it is beyond all spatial concepts. The following answer

(refer 'Day by Day with Bhagawan, 23.5.46.) summarises Bhagavan's

views on this matter :

" I ask you to see where the 'I' arises in your body, but it

is not really quite true to say that the 'I' rises from and merges on

the right side of the chest. The Heart is another name for the

reality, and it is neither inside nor outside the body. There can be

no in or out for it since it alone is ... so long as one identifies

with the body and thinks that he is in the body, he is advised to see

where in the body the 'I' -thought rises and merges again."

A hint of this can also be found in this paragraph of 'Who am I?'

in the sentance in which Bhagavan asks devotees to enquire 'In what

place in the body does this "I" first arise?'

Ordinarily, 'idam', which is translated here as 'place', means

only that, but Bhagavan often gave it a broader meaning by using it

to signify the state of the Self. Later in the essay, for example, he

writes, The place [idam] where even the slightest trace of "I" does

not exist is 'swarupa' [one's real nature].

Sadhu Natanananda, on the flyleaf of his Tamil work 'Sri Ramana

Darshanam', records a similar statement from Bhagavan: 'Those who

resort to this place [idam] will obtain 'Atma-jnana' automatically'.

Clearly, he cannot be speaking of the physical environment of his

ashram because paying a visit there didn't necessarily result in

enlightenment.

So, when Bhagavan writes 'In what place....' he is not

necessarily indicating that one should look for the 'I' in a

particular location. He is instead saying that that the 'I' rises

from the dimensionless Self, and that one should seek its source

there.

As he once told Kapali Sastri, (pls refer 'Sad Darshana Bhashya'

pp.xvii - xix.) ' You should try to have rather than locate the

experience '. ]

 

 

Ever Yours in Sri Bhagavan

Dora

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