More on Amma Anasuya Devi...from Celestial Saraswati

[Guest guest]

Dear Friends,

 

Some of you asked (via private email) when I would post more

information on/by Anasuya Devi. Some years back I met someone on

Usenet (internet) who sent me a very wonderful book titled TALKS WITH

AMMA, Sri Anasuy aDevi. It is edited by Rodney Alexander Arms.

 

Here is an excerpt under the heading, "One I Has Become All the I's":

 

"Questioner: Why does man consider himself a separate individual?

 

Amma: The fragment (khanda) is form; the unfragmented (adhanda) is a

_bhava_ (concept, mental state). That I which is set as I alone, is

_Aham Brahmasmi_) (the I-am _Brahman_ state). When that all-

pervading I needs to see as you, that I becomes you and sees. That I

(_aham_) takes form (_akara_) and becomes the ego (ahamkara). That I

which is as the I distinct from you, is a dualistic state. That I

which is as I alone, became you, he, she, and it, and therefore the

experiencer thinks himself separate. We give the name 'I' to that

which has these thoughts. I and the mind are not different. 'You'

and 'I' exist because of our thinking.

 

A sign (_gurtu_) has a particular form so that it can be identified

and conveniently communicated. 'I' is a sign. The I which is spread

everywhere they called the 'Unversal Self' (_Paramatman_); the

_sakti_ confined within a body they called the 'individual self'

(_pratyagatman_). That I which has become all I's, that I which has

become everything--me, door, tree, ant-hill, crow--has the name 'I'

for convenience of communication. When it is felt, "I am everything;

All is I", then I, the individual self, and the Universal Self do not

appear different.

 

Q. Not knowing "All is ONE", is like dreaming. The dreamer thinks

that the thief he sees is real, and so he suffers. We feel there's

an 'I' within, but if we investigate it logically and rationally, we

don't find anything, however far we go, and everything seems like a

mirage.

 

Amma: The analogies are all right, but even what you call a 'mirage'

is not non-existent. For all these the I must exist. You are

thinking, "I am". Your mind is investigating. There is something

you cannot understand. There must be something which gives these

thoughts. That which thinnks through thought--what is it? What is

the real nature of thought? What is its source? Why isn't what we

thought happening?

 

----

 

Amma: What is in all is what says, "I". That I is _Brahman_

(Reality). I do not mean that I alone am _Brahman_. Doesn't

everyone say, "I"? That I is the ego. Even the I which sees,

recognizes and asks, "Who am I?" is that same I. Without the ego we

cannot become _Aham Brahmasmi_ (I-am- _Brahman_). It is is only

through the ego that one gets rid of the ego. Understand what I mean

by "knowing the I through the ego." The feeling of not knowing God

even though you are yourself God, is knowing the I through the ego.

Even that state is not devoid of _Brahmatva_ (_Brahma-ness, reality).

 

Amma: If everybody's mind were the same, as soon as a thought

occurred to me, the same thought would occur to you. But everyone

has his own experience (_anubhava_): one's experience is not

another's. The experience given to one is not given to another--even

if put in front of him, he will see nothing. Everyone perceives

according to his capacity to perceive. Without the capacity to

cognize, he cannot see even though he has eyes--even though he has a

lamp, he cannot see.

 

Mind has individuality (_vyashtitva_). How are four rooms obtained in

the same house? In the same body if some good thoughts occur, he is

called a "saint"; if some terrible thoughts occur, he his called

a "savage". The very same mind thinks of killing one fellow and

protecting another. If the mind is a ONE, we give the

name 'enlightened man' (_Jnanai_); if it is as two, we give the

name 'ignornant man' (_jnani_). The mind that has a worshipful bhava

is 'divine'; if the same mind thinks bout the wrong things, we call

it 'devilish'. mind devoid of compassion is the Devil. Mind is

itself God; mind is itself the Devil.'

 

So, although all minds are made of the same substance, there are

differences of degree--'madman', 'common man', 'enlightened man'...If

the mind thinks confusedly, he is a 'madman'; if the same mind

becomes steadfast, he is an 'enlightened man'. These names do not

denote the mind as such, but rather tha manner of its thinking and

its functioning.

 

Every human being judges others according to his own mind. Whether

it be one's wife, husband, children, brothers, sisters, parents, or

even those who consider themselves spiritual guides and _gurus_ and

who teach others, nobody understands another's mind. This is what is

meant by 'variety'. If the mind were understood, there would be no

teaching.

 

Everyone say,s "My mind." But of whom is he saying, "My mind? I and

the mind are not different, are they?

 

In the _Bhagavad Gita_ even man's mind is said to be God. The mind

is of prime importance for everything. It is the mind that cognizes

the other: according to our minds we cognize the world. It is the

mind that thinks "This is 'good', and that is 'bad.' With the scale

we keep in our minds we measure everything--and we are satisfied.

 

The mind calls something -_guru_' and worships it, rejecting

something else. Since the mind is unable to understand that mind is

everything, it selects a particular form and calls it 'God,' Then it

seeks that God within itself. That means that the mind itself does

everything. Finally it understands none other than itself. Knowing

oneself is, after all, knowing God. One who knows himself knows

everything. It is the I that knows God; it is the I that knows

everything. This intelligence that knows everything is itself God,

isn't it?" (p. ll0-ll3)

 

*******

 

I would also like to thank all those who offered prayers for someone

in my life who has very difficult health challenges. There has been

some improvement in some areas which are very encouraging and

positive. Please continue to pray if you feel led to do this.

 

If anyone would like to email me privately, please feel free to do

so. I very much enjoy private emails.

 

Thank you,

 

Kathy