Fwd: Chapter 5: The inquiry 'Who am I?' & the 4 Yogas

[Guest guest]

PathofSriRamana , " uarelove " <uarelove>

wrote:

 

 

The Path of Sri Ramana

Part 1

Chapter Five:

The inquiry 'Who am I?' and the Four Yogas

Page 58:

 

" This very process

 

of thus separating ourselves

 

from these sheaths,

 

which are extraneous

 

and alien to us,

 

has been described in scriptures

 

as 'yoga'.

 

Though in its strictest sense

 

the word 'yoga' simply means 'union',

 

our earlier analysis has led us

 

to call this process one of 'separation'.

 

In effect however,

 

these two (separation and union)

 

are one and the same!

 

What in Sri Ramana's path to happiness has been so far described as

 

'a separation from what we are not'

 

is the same as that which has been called by all the scriptures

 

which have prevailed in our midst up till now as 'union with God'.

 

If so, what is the reason for the use of

 

these two contradictory words?

 

The basic meaning which Sri Ramana gives us for the word 'I'

 

is our true natural consciousness, Self,

 

whereas the basic meaning which has been given by the scriptures

 

up till now for the word 'I'

 

is the consciousness 'I am this body'.

 

Let us make this clear with an example.

 

Suppose one woman says,

 

" I have come to Tiruvannamalai " ,

 

and another says,

 

" I have returned from Tiruvannamalai " ,

 

both are pointing out the same event of reaching Tiruvannamalai.

 

What do we infer from their way of pointing out that same event

 

of reaching Tiruvannamalai with the contradictory words

 

'come' and 'returned'?

 

The first one is in Tiruvannamalai,

 

while the other one is not in Tiruvannamalai

 

but is speaking from somewhere else.

 

Similarly, the method which is given to an aspirant

 

who asks for a path to perfect happiness

 

will be descriped either as 'separation' or as 'union'

 

according to what is given to her or taken by her

 

as the basic meaning for the word 'I'. "

--- End forwarded message ---