Guest guest Posted May 26, 2003 Report Share Posted May 26, 2003 Hello, I am new to this group but a long-time student of the teachings of Ramana Maharshi. About 20 years ago I discovered Ramana in the book " A Search in Secret India. " I instantly realized that the light of essential reality (as just pure being) was shinning without obstruction from Ramana. Here was a being with direct knowledge of the absolute reality. No hob goblins, no detours, no nonsense, just a direct connection to the essence of reality... I am. Question: can someone explain the following analogy attributed to Ramana in " Talks " page 2? *************************************************************** Talk 5. Mr. M. Frydman, an engineer, remarked on the subject of Grace, " A salt doll diving into the sea will not be protected by a waterproof coat " . It was a very happy simile and was applauded as such. Maharshi added, " The body is the waterproof coat. " *************************************************************** What confuses me is that a truly waterproof coat that prevented any water from touching the salt doll would protect it from dissolving into the sea (if dissolution is what it's not protected from). So I don't understand how the statement to the effect that a waterproof coat would not protect the doll is accurate. I can only assume Ramana means a coat that does not completely protect the doll from the water; but then why say " waterproof " ? Even under this assumption I don't fully see the point being made since there's almost no context provided in the book. Thanks for providing this forum and keeping Ramana's wisdom alive! http://IanGoddard.net " Our greatest illusion is to believe that we are what we think ourselves to be. " Henri Amiel (1821-1881) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 27, 2003 Report Share Posted May 27, 2003 > " Ian Goddard " <iamgoddard > > > Salt Doll Simile >Mon, 26 May 2003 21:12:40 -0000 > >Hello, I am new to this group but a long-time student of the >teachings of Ramana Maharshi. About 20 years ago I discovered Ramana >in the book " A Search in Secret India. " I instantly realized that >the light of essential reality (as just pure being) was shinning >without obstruction from Ramana. Here was a being with direct >knowledge of the absolute reality. No hob goblins, no detours, no >nonsense, just a direct connection to the essence of reality... I am. > >Question: can someone explain the following analogy attributed to >Ramana in " Talks " page 2? > >*************************************************************** >Talk 5. > > Mr. M. Frydman, an engineer, remarked on the subject of Grace, " A >salt doll diving into the sea will not be protected by a waterproof >coat " . > > It was a very happy simile and was applauded as such. Maharshi >added, " The body is the waterproof coat. " > >*************************************************************** > >What confuses me is that a truly waterproof coat that prevented any >water from touching the salt doll would protect it from dissolving >into the sea (if dissolution is what it's not protected from). So I >don't understand how the statement to the effect that a waterproof >coat would not protect the doll is accurate. I can only assume >Ramana means a coat that does not completely protect the doll from >the water; but then why say " waterproof " ? Even under this assumption >I don't fully see the point being made since there's almost no >context provided in the book. > >Thanks for providing this forum and keeping Ramana's wisdom alive! > >http://IanGoddard.net > > " Our greatest illusion is to believe that we are what >we think ourselves to be. " Henri Amiel (1821-1881) > > > does your coat protect your head from getting wet, your feet your hands? doll=ego...I-thought coat=world...this-thought once the wetnness of water touches anypart of the doll it starts to dissolve from within once eternal ocean of Brahman touches " I " it dissolves in same way who wants to know is the only legit question Yours in That elijah _______________ STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 27, 2003 Report Share Posted May 27, 2003 Re: /message/334 " elijah blue " wrote: > does > your > coat > protect > your > head > from > getting > wet, > your > feet > your > hands? IAN: If it was a coat that made me waterproof, yes. But I see your point: the coat is not perfectly waterproof. > doll=ego...I-thought > coat=world...this-thought > once > the > wetnness > of > water > touches > anypart > of > the > doll > it > starts > to > dissolve > from > within > once > eternal > ocean > of > Brahman > touches > " I " > it > dissolves > in > same > way > who > wants > to > know > is > the > only > legit > question > Yours > in > That IAN: Yes, the dissolution of the salt doll into the ocean of Brahman seems obviously implied. I guess what I don't immediately see is how that ties in with Mr Frydman's having " remarked on the subject of Grace. " What does he mean by " Grace " and how does that tie in with the doll? In short, I don't see how the simile is being applied. http://IanGoddard.net " Our greatest illusion is to believe that we are what we think ourselves to be. " Henri Amiel (1821-1881) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 27, 2003 Report Share Posted May 27, 2003 > > IAN: Yes, the dissolution of the salt doll into > the ocean > of Brahman seems obviously implied. I guess what I > don't > immediately see is how that ties in with Mr > Frydman's > having " remarked on the subject of Grace. " What > does he > mean by " Grace " and how does that tie in with the > doll? > In short, I don't see how the simile is being > applied. > > how does the salt doll fall into the ocean? how do you come to this teaching? Who is the questioner? Understanding the similies are not the point. The ego wants to use similies to understand what is beyond thought... Grace alone is You Are That shhhhh monkeymind look within HisGraceisYOUR-SELF The New Search - Faster. Easier. Bingo. http://search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 27, 2003 Report Share Posted May 27, 2003 > > > > > IAN: Yes, the dissolution of the salt doll into > > the ocean > > of Brahman seems obviously implied. I guess what I > > don't > > immediately see is how that ties in with Mr > > Frydman's > > having " remarked on the subject of Grace. " What > > does he > > mean by " Grace " and how does that tie in with the > > doll? > > In short, I don't see how the simile is being > > applied. one more idea, how does the ocean dissolve the saltdoll? is there any effort on the part of the ocean? Grace is yours dive within That you Are _______________ The new MSN 8: advanced junk mail protection and 2 months FREE* http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 1, 2003 Report Share Posted June 1, 2003 > *************************************************************** > Talk 5. > > Mr. M. Frydman, an engineer, remarked on the subject of Grace, " A > salt doll diving into the sea will not be protected by a waterproof > coat " . > > It was a very happy simile and was applauded as such. Maharshi > added, " The body is the waterproof coat. " > > *************************************************************** That's from " Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi " (Sri Ramanashramam, 2000, page 2). " Thus Spake Ramana " (page 82) cites the salt-doll simile as follows: " 88. A salt doll diving into the sea will not be protected by a waterproof coat. The body is the waterproof coat. You see objects on forgetting your own Self. If you keep hold of your Self, you will not see the objective world. " While this text omits the part about Mr Frydman's remark on grace, the additional sentences result in a cohesive simile that appears to say: when the subjective identity (mind) dissolves, all objective identities (which are merely mental constructs) also dissolve. http://IanGoddard.net " Our greatest illusion is to believe that we are what we think ourselves to be. " Henri Amiel (1821-1881) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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