Who am I? Paragraph 6

[Guest guest]

Who am I? Paragraph 6

 

Nor is there any such thing as the physical world apart from and

independent of thought. In deep sleep there are no thoughts: nor is

there a world. Just as the spider draws out the thread of the cobweb

from within itself and withdraws it again into itself, in the same

way the mind projects the world out of itself and absorbs it into

itself.

 

COMMENTS FROM A SEEKER

 

Ramana might say, "Has anyone seen the world without a mind?" Again,

for many seekers this is where the teachings get difficult. I have

seen seekers who are very advanced struggle with this point. Then

finally, if they relax the hold of their concepts, they continue to

deepen.

 

The existence of the world also includes the existence of the body,

the mind and the ego. Holding to the world and trying to become free

of the ego then has an inherent problem.

 

What is the point? One point is that what one sees as real is where

one will place their identity. Some could say that the whole point

of inquiry is to see that Reality is "within." Then, finally the

seeker may be able to use this spiritual knowledge to see that their

own identity is Awareness, not with the "ten thousand things" (to use

a Buddhist expression).

 

This is precisely where my own practice is now. I have seen that the

Knower is never within the known. So the spiritual conviction is

there. This has deepened my practice. In inquiry (both in seated

meditation and in daily activities) I am seeing that I continue to

place my identity in this body/mind/ego. There are moments where the

inquiry goes deeper. And then the stand as body/mind/ego returns.

So, back to the inquiry.

 

I have been taught that what one experiences is a matter of where one

takes their stand. If the stand is as body, there is the world,

life, death, etc. If one's stand is as the mind, then the ideas

control and limit one's experience. If one's stand is as Being-

Consciousness-Bliss, then no more needs to be done. This is where

Ramana stood and shed his light onto all who visited him (and even

those who just read about him).

 

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

 

I invite others to add their comments of their own understanding,

experiences, or questions. I want to invite all into a deeper

practice of inquiry.

 

The translation that I am using is the one from Osborn's "Collected

works of Ramana Maharshi."

 

We are Not two,

Richard