Help on the Quest for Self-realization-Reminders-51

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Help on the Quest for Self-realization-Reminders-51

 

For the purpose of Self-enquiry you have to proceed on the basis

that the ego has but one form, namely that of the "I"-thought.

 

Self-enquiry by following the clue of the "I"-thought is just like

the dog tracing his master by his scent.

 

The search for the source of the "I"-thought is not merely the

search for the basis of one of the forms of the ego but for the very

source itself from which arises the "I am"-ness. In other words,

the quest for the realization of the source of the ego in the form

of "I"-thought necessarily implies the transcendence of the ego in

every one of its possible forms.

 

>From the functional point of view the ego has one and only one

characteristic. The ego functions as the knot between the Self

which is pure consciousness and the physical body which is inert and

insentient. In your investigation into the source of the "I"-

thought you take the essential consciousness aspect of the ego. For

this reason the enquiry must lead to the realization of pure

consciousness of the Self.

 

You must distinguish between the "I", pure in itself, and the "I"-

thought. The latter being merely a thought, sees subject and

object, sleeps, wakes up, eats and drinks, dies and is reborn. But

the pure "I" is the pure being, eternal existence, free from

ignorance and thought-illusion.

 

Self is realized with dead mind, that is, mind devoid of thoughts

and turned inwards. Then the mind sees its own source and becomes

that [self]. It is not as the subject perceiving an object.

 

The essence of the mind is only awareness or consciousness. When

the ego, however, dominates it, it functions as the reasoning,

thinking or sensing faculty. The cosmic mind being not limited by

the ego, has nothing separate from itself and is therefore only

aware. This is what the Bible means by "I am that I am". The

impure mind which functions as thinking and forgetting, alone is

samsara, which is the cycle of birth and death. The real "I" in

which thinking and forgetting have perished, alone is the pure

liberation. It is devoid of pramada [forgetfulness of Self] which

is the cause of birth and death.

 

The pure mind is in fact the Absolute Consciousness. The object to

be witnessed and the witness finally merge together and Absolute

Consciousness alone remains. It is not a state of blank or

ignorance but is the Supreme Self.

 

Source: Various reliable publications of / on Sri Ramana Maharshi's

teachings.