Ramana....Final state

[Guest guest]

Bhagavan: Why speculate about what will happen some time in the future? All

are agreed that the 'I' exists. To whichever school of thought he may belong,

let the earnest seeker first find out what the 'I' is. Then it will be time

enough to know what the final state will be, whether the 'I' will get merged in

the Supreme being or stand apart form Him. Let us not forestall the conclusion,

but keep and open mind.

Devotee: But will not some understanding of the final state be as helpful guide

even to the aspirant?

B: No purpose is served by trying to decide now what the final state of

Realization will be. It has no intrinsic value.

D: Why not.

B: Because you proceed on a wrong principle. Your conclusion is arrived at by

the intellect which shines only by the light it derives from the Self. Is it

not presumptuous on the part of the intellect to sit in judgment over that from

which it derives its little light? How can the intellect, which can never reach

the Self, be competent to ascertain and much less decide the nature of the final

state of Realization? It is like trying to measure the sunlight at is source by

the standard of the light given by a candle. The wax will melt down before the

candle comes anywhere near the sun. Instead of indulging in mere speculation,

devote your self here and now to the search for the truth that is ever within

you.

 

from The Teaching of Ramana Maharshi edited by Arthur Osborne