Self-Inquiry Shambhala press #5

[Guest guest]

Q: Not having realized the Truth that the Self alone exists, Should I not adopt

bhakti and yoga-margas as being more suitable for purposes of sadhana than

vichara marga?

Is not the realization of one's absolute Being that is, Brahma-jnana, something

quite unattainable to a lay man like me?

 

M: Brahma-jnana is not a knowledge to be acquired, so that acquiring it one may

obtain happiness. It is one's ignorant outlook that one should give up. The

Self you seek to know is verily yourself. Your supposed ignorance causes you

needless grief, like that of the ten foolish men who grieved the "loss" of the

tenth man who was never lost.

 

The ten foolish men in the parable forded a stream and on reaching the other

shore wanted to make sure that all of them had in fact safely crossed the

stream. One of the ten began to count, but while counting others, left himself

out. "I see only nine; sure enough, we have lost one. Who can it be?" he said.

"Did you count correctly? asked another, and did the counting himself. But he

too counted only nine. One after the other, each of the ten counted only nine,

missing himself. "We are only nine," they all agreed, "but who is the missing

one?" they asked themselves. Every effort they made to discover the

"missing"individual failed. "Whoever he be that is drowned," said the most

sentimental of the ten fools, "we have lost him." So saying, he bust into

tears, and the rest of the nine followed suit.

 

Seeing them, weeping on the river bank, a sympathetic wayfarer inquired for the

cause. They related what had happened and said that even after counting

themselves several times they could find no more than nine. On hearing the

story, but seeing all ten before him, the wayfarer guessed what had happened.

In order to make them know for themselves that they were really ten, that all

of them had come safe from the crossing, he told them, "Let each of you count

for himself but one after the other serially, one, two, three and so on, while

I shall give you each a blow so that all of you may be sure of having been

included in the count, and included only once. The tenth 'missing' man will

then be found." Hearing this, they rejoiced at the prospect of finding their

"lost" comrade and accepted the method suggested by the wayfarer.

 

While the kind wayfarer gave a blow to each of the ten in turn, he that got the

blow counted himself aloud. "Ten," said the last man as he got the last blow in

his turn. Bewildered, they looked at one another. "We are ten," they said with

one voice and thanked the wayfarer for having removed their grief.

 

This is the parable. From where was the tenth man brought in?: Was he ever lost?

By knowing that he has been there all the while, did they learn anything new?

The cause of their grief was not the real loss of any one of the ten; it was

their own ignorance, rather their mere suppostion that one of them was lost

(though they could not find who he was) because they counted only nine.

 

Such is also the case with you. Truly there is no cause for you to be miserable

to and unhappy. You yourself impose limitations on your true nature of infinite

Being and then weep that you are but a finite creature. Then you take up this or

that sadhana to transcend the non-existent limitations. But if your sadhana

itself assumes the existence of the limitations, how can it help you to

transcend them?

 

Hence I say know that you are really the infinite, pure Being, the Self

Absolute. you are always that Self and nothing but that Self. Therefore, you

can never be really ignorant of the Self; your ignorance is merely a formal

ignorance, like the ignorance of the ten fools about the "lost" tenth man. It

is this ignorance that caused them grief.

 

Know then that true knowledge does not create a new Being for you; it only

removes your "ignorant ignorance." Bliss is not added to your nature; it is

merely revealed as your true and natural state., eternal and imperishable. The

only way to be rid of your grief is to know and be the Self. How can this be

unattainable?

 

Final post of this series take from The Spiritual Teachings of Ramana Maharshi.

[Guest guest]

Alton:

This part below will help in your "brain washing" so that you can "have a firm

conviction that you are the Self" as Nisargadatta has offered in "I Am That"

"All the meditation wont help unless you have a firm conviction that you are

the Absolute" Of course replies will be that we have been "brainwashed" and we

all we are doing is to "unbrainwashing". LOL.

 

Sri Ramana:

"You yourself impose limitations on your true nature of infinite Being and then

weep that you are but a finite creature. Then you take up this or that sadhana

to transcend the non-existent limitations. But if your sadhana itself assumes

the existence of the limitations, how can it help you to transcent them? "

 

"Know then that true knowledge does not create a new Being for you; it only

removes your "ignorant ignorance." Bliss is not added to your nature; it is

merely revealed as your true and natural state., eternal and imperishable. The

only way to be rid of your grief is to know and be the Self. How can this be

unattainable?"