Talks with Ramana Maharshi , December 17, 1935 , Paul Brunton

[Guest guest]

December 17, 1935

 

Mr. P. Brunton, while reading Upadesa Manjari, came across the statement that the ego, the world, and God are all unreal. He desired to use a different word for God or at least a qualifying adjective, e.g, the Creative Force or personal God. Sri Bhagavan explained that God means Samashti, i.e, all that is plus the Be-ing, and the "world" means the variety plus Being. The Being is in all cases real. The all, the variety, and the individual is in each case unreal. So also in the union of the real and the unreal, the mixing up or the false identification is wrong. It amounts to saying sad-asad-vilakshana, i.e., transcending the real and the unreal - sat and asat. Reality is that which transcends all concepts, including that of God. Inasmuch as the name of God is used, it cannot be true. The Hebrew word Jehova (I Am) expresses God correctly. Absolute Being is beyond expression. The word cannot be replace nor need it be replaced.

 

The Englishman casually said that in prehistoric ages there was spirituality but not high intellect, whereas intellect has now developed. Sri Bhagavan pointed out that 'intellect' raises the question 'whose intellect?' The answer is 'the Self'. So intellect is the tool of the Self. The Self uses intellect for measuring variety. Intellect is not the Self nor apart from the Self. the Self alone is eternal. Intellect is only a phenomenon. People speak of the development of variety as being the development of intellect. Intellect was always there. Dhata yata parvam akalpayat ( The Creator created just as before). Consider your own state, day by day. There is no intellect in dreamless deep sleep. But it is there now. There is no intellect in a child. It develops with age. How could there be manifestation of intellect without its seed in the sleep state and in the child? Why go to history to teach this fundamental fact? The level of truth of history is only the level of truth of the individual.

 

 

 

 

 

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Talks with Ramana Maharshi ,

InnerDirections Publishing , 2000

pp. 80-81

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