Is it necessary for the mind to die?

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The following is quoted from Sri Lakshmana Swami, a realized devotee

of Ramana Maharshi, from "No Mind - I Am The Self; The Lives and

Teachings of Sri Lakshmana Swamy and Mathru Sri Sarada", (p.102-3) by

David Godman.

 

 

Question: What are the different stages or levels of the mind that

one passes through before realising the Self?

 

Sri Lakshmana Swami: Mind is only thoughts. The more easily you can

be without thoughts, the nearer you are to a direct experience of the

Self. To make the mind die you must deprive it of thoughts. The

effortless thought-free state is the highest level of practice.

 

There are no states or degrees of realization, there are only stages

of spiritual practice. The final stage of sadhana is this effortless

thought-free state. If this state can be maintained, then the "I"

will sink into the Self and it will experience the bliss of the Self.

These experiences are only temporary; the "I" will continue to

reassert itself until the moment of realization. Realization can only

happen in this effortless thought-free state, for it is only in this

state that the Self can destroy the "I"-thought. The "I"-thought,

which is the mind, must die completely before Self-Realization occurs.

 

Question: How is one to make the mind die?

 

Sri Lakshmana Swami: The mind can never eliminate itself without the

grace of the Self. The mind is afraid of its own death; it will not

do anything to endanger its own existence. It is like the thief who

poses as a policeman in order to catch himself because he ultimately

wants to escape. Similarly with the mind. The mind will engage in

sadhana, thinking it wants to destroy itself, but as soon as the mind

starts to sink into the Heart, a great fear arises which prevents the

mind from completely subsiding. This fear is part of the mind's self-

defense mechanism, and you will never overcome it by effort alone. It

is because of this that you need the grace of the Guru. When you

concentrate on the name and form of the Guru, or try to be without

thoughts, the grace of the Guru calms the mind and helps it to

overcome the fear which would otherwise prevent it from completely

subsiding.

 

Question: Why is it necessary for the mind to die?

 

Sri Lakshmana Swami: The mind must die, there is no other way to

realize the Self. Some people say that complete equanimity of mind is

Self-Realization, but this is not true. This is only a stage one

passes through on the way to Self-Realization. Other people say that

seeing the Self or God everywhere is Self-Realization, but this is

not true either. To see the Self everywhere there must be an "I" who

sees, and while that "I" exists the mind will also exist. The jnani

does not see anything because the seeing entity in him has died. In

the Self, there is no seeing, only being. When the mind still exists

one can reach a stage where one can see the whole world as a

manifestation of the Self, but when the mind dies, there is no one

who sees and no world to be seen.

 

If you have a mind then the earth, the sky, and the stars will exist,

and you will be able to see them. When the mind dies there will be no

earth, no sky, no stars, and no world. The world of objects, names,

and forms is only the mind, and when the mind dies, the world dies

with it. Only the Self then remains.

 

Seeing everything as the Self gives the impression that the Self is

equally distributed everywhere. This is also an idea in the mind.

When the mind finally dies you realize that there is no distribution

and no everywhere.

 

 

 

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