text and comment

[Guest guest]

June 22, 1935

A youth of twenty asked how to realize Self. He sat down in silence and

waited more than an hour and then was about to leave. While doing so, he

again asked: "How to realize Self?"

 

M. Whose Self? Find out

..

D. I do not know.

 

M. Think. Who is it that says "I do not know"? What is not known? In

that statement, who is the "I"?

 

D. Somebody in me.

 

M. Who is the somebody? In whom?

 

D. May be some power.

 

M. Find it.

 

D. How to realize Brahman?

 

M. Without knowing the Self, why do you seek to know Brahman?

 

D. The sastras say Brahman pervades all and me, too.

 

M. Find the "I" in me and then there will be time to think of Brahman.

 

D. Why was I born?

 

M. Who was born? The answer is the same for all your questions.

 

D. Who am I then?

 

M. (smiling) Have you come to examine me and ask me? You must say who

you are.

 

D. In deep sleep the soul leaves the body and remains elsewhere. When it

re-enters, I awake. Is it not so?

 

M. What is it that leaves the body?

 

D. The power, perhaps.

 

M. Find out the power.

 

D. The body is composed of five elements. What are the elements?

 

M. Without knowing the Self, how do you aim at knowing the elements?

 

(The young man sat awhile and left with permission.)

 

The Master remarked later: All right. It will work.

from "Talks With Ramana Maharshi"

------------------------------

 

It seems to me that Ramana isn't particularly pointing to conscoiusness

or even subjectivity here as an answer, nor a way to disidentify with or

slow down the flow of thoughts. Rather I think he is advising a sort of

active meditation on the sense or feeling of "I". When I say "I" I mean

something by that, although I couldn't exactly say what. I don't really

mean consciousness or a kind of abstract subjectivity. I think the idea

is to let oneself be pulled into the enquiry into what we mean by "I".

Any comments? Can someone put this in better words?

 

Larry