Who am I, Paragraph 8

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Paragraph 8

 

By a steady and continuous investigation into the nature of the mind,

the mind is transformed into That to which the `I' refers; and that

is in fact the Self. Mind has to necessarily depend for its

existence on something gross, it never subsists by itself. It is the

mind that is otherwise called the subtle body, ego, jiva or soul.

 

COMMENTS from a seeker.

 

The first sentence derives from a yoga teaching on the mind, that the

mind becomes that which it focuses upon. Focus the mind on That and

the mind will become That. The trouble is, the mind grasps only the

objective, and That is never objective. Focus the mind on the non-

objective and its loses its `basis' of the objective. To focus the

mind on the non-objective, Ramana taught self-inquiry. Self-inquiry

uses the mind to move past the mind.

 

Here, the seeker is also told how to practice; "By a steady and

continuous investigation." He does not say to wait for Self-

realization to come, he does not way that it is the hands of the

gods, or fate. The seeker is directed to practice "By a steady and

continuous investigation."

 

Ramana also here equates the mind with the ego or jiva. He says

that it is just another name for ego. What is the mind? A bundle of

thoughts. What is the ego? A thought, and specific one, the first

thought. Eliminate all thoughts and the ego never rises. How do you

eliminate all thoughts? Ramana advised self-inquiry, to look into

the source of the `I'-thought.

 

*****

 

We are Not two,

Richard