Self-Inquiry Shambhala press #2

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Q: Instead of enquiring " Who am I" can I put the question to myself "Who are

You," Since then my mind may be fixed on You who I consider to be God in the

form of Guru. Perhaps, I would be nearer the goal of my quest by that inquiry

than by asking myself "Who am I?"

 

M: Whatever form your inquiry may take, you must finally come to the one." the

Self. All these distinctions made between the "I" and "you," Master and

disciple, etc., are merely a sign of one's ignorance. The "I" Supreme alone is.

To think otherwise is to delude yourself.

 

A story from the Puranas about Sage Ribhu and his disciple Nidagha is

particularly instructive in this context.

 

Although Ribhu taught his disciple the supreme Truth of the One Brahman without

a second, Nidagha, in spite of his erudition and understanding, did not get

sufficient conviction to adopt and follow the path of jnana, (knowledge) but

settled down in his native town to lead a life devoted to the observance of

ceremonial religion.

 

But the Sage loved his disciple as deeply as the latter venerated his Master. In

spite of his age, Ribhu would himself go to his disciple in the town, just to

see how far the latter had outgrown his ritualism. At times the Sage went in

disguise, so that he might observe how Nidagha would act when he did not know

that he was being observed by his Master.

 

On one such occasion Ribhu, who had put on the disguise of a village rustic,

found Nidagha intently watching a royal procession. Unrecognized by the

town-dweller Nidagha, the village rustic inquired what the bustle was all

about, and was told that the king was going in procession.

"Oh! It is the king He goes in procession! But where is he?" asked the Rustic.

"There, on the elephant," said Nidagha.

"You say the king is on the elephant. Yes, I see the two," said the rustic.

"But which is the king and which is the elephant?"

"What!" exclaimed Nidagha. "You see the two, but do not know that the man

above is the king and the animal below is the elephant? What is the use of

talking to a man like you?"

"Pray, be not impatient with an ignorant man like me," begged the rustic.

"But you said 'above and 'below' - what do they mean?

 

Nidagha could stand it no more. "You see the king and the elephant, the one

above and the other below. Yet you want to know what is meant by "above' and

'below'?" burst out Nidagha. "If things seen and words spoken can convey so

little to you, action alone can teach you. Bend forward, and you will know it

all too well."

 

The rustic did as he was told. Nidagha got on his shoulders and said, "Know it

now. I am above and the king, you are below as the elephant. It that clear

enough?"

"No, not yet," was the rustic's quiet reply. "you say you are above like the

king and I am below like the elephant. The 'king,' the 'elephant,' above.' and

'below,' so far it is clear. But pray, tell me what you mean by 'I' and 'you'?"

 

When Nidagha was thus confronted all of a sudden with the mighty problem of

defining the "you" apart from the "I" light dawned on his mind. At once he

jumped down and fell at his Master's feet, saying, "Who else but my venerable

Master, Ribhu, could have thus drawn my mind from the superficialities of

physical existence to the true Being of Self? O benign Master, I crave they

blessing."

 

Therefore, while your aim is to transcend here and now these superficialities of

physical existence through atmavichara, where is the scope for making the

distinctions of "you and "I," which pertain only to the body? When you turn the

mind within, seeking the Source of thought, where is the "you" and where is the

"I"?

You should seek and be the Self that includes all.

 

To be continued.

 

The Spiritual Teaching of Ramana Maharshi