Guest guest Posted January 19, 2005 Report Share Posted January 19, 2005 Question: You say one can realise the Self by a search for it. What is the character of this search? Sri Ramana Maharshi: You are the mind and think that you are the mind. The mind is nothing but thoughts. Now behind every particular thought there is a general thought, which is the ‘I’, that is yourself. Let us call this ‘I’ the first thought. Stick to this ‘I’-thought and question it to find out what it is. When this question takes strong hold on you, you cannot think of other thoughts. Question: When I do this and cling to myself, that is, the ‘I’-thought, other thoughts come and go, but I say to myself ‘Who am I?’ and there is no answer forthcoming. To be in this condition is the practice. Is it so? Sri Ramana Maharshi: This is a mistake that people often make. What happens when you make a serious quest for the Self is that the ‘I’-thought disappears and something else from the depths takes hold of you and that is not the ‘I’ which commenced the quest. Question: What is this something else? Sri Ramana Maharshi: That is the Self, the import of ‘I’. It is not the ego. It is the supreme being itself. Questioner: But you have often said that one must reject other thoughts when one begins the quest but the thoughts are endless. If one thought is rejected, another comes and there seems to be no end at all. Sri Ramana Maharshi: I do not say you must go on rejecting thoughts. Cling to yourself, that is, to the ‘I’-thought. When your interest keeps you to that single idea, other thoughts will automatically get rejected and they will vanish.Question: And so rejection of thoughts is not necessary? Sri Ramana Maharshi: No. It may be necessary for a time or for some. You fancy that there is no end if one goes on rejecting every thought when it rises. It is not true, there is an end. If you are vigilant and make a stern effort to reject every thought when it rises you will soon find that you are going deeper and deeper into your own inner self. At that level it is not necessary to make an effort to reject thoughts. Questioner: Then it is possible to be without effort, without strain. Sri Ramana Maharshi: Not only that, it is impossible for you to make an effort beyond a certain extent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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