Maharshi - Liberation

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Is not the sense of "I" natural to all beings ,

expressed in all their feelings as "I came" , "I went" ,

"I did " or "I was" ? On questioning what this is , we find

that the body is identified with "I" , because movements

and similar functions pertain to the body.

Can the body then be this "I-consciousness" ? It was not

there before birth , it is composed of the five elements ,

it is absent in sleep , and it [ eventually ] becomes a corpse.

No , it cannot be.

 

This sense of "I" , which arises in the body for the time being ,

is otherwise called the ego, ignorance ,illusion , impurity ,

or individual sense. The purpose of all the scriptures is this enquiry

[ into the Self ]. It is declared in them that the annihilation

of the ego-sense is Liberation.

 

How then can one remain indifferent to this teaching ?

Can the body , which is insentient as a piece of wood , shine

and function as "I" ? No. Therefore , lay aside this insentient

body as though it were truely a corpse. Do not even murmur "I" ,

but enquire qeenly within what it is that now shines within

the Heart as "I" .

 

Underlying the inceasing flow of varied thoughts , there arises

the continuous , unbroken awareness , silent and spontaneous,

as "I-I" in the Heart. If one catches hold of it and remains still,

it will completely annihilate the sense of "I" in the body and will

itself dissapear as a fire of burning camphor.

 

Sages and scriptures proclaim this to be Liberation.

 

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The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi

Edited by Arthur Osborne

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