A Scientist Becomes A Vedantin, #4

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A Scientist Becomes A Vedantin

The Effect of Bhagavan's Darshan

 

This article, written anonymously in Tamil by a scientist,

was received by Ramanasramam on 15th april, 1946.

It remained unpublished until it appeared in Tamil in the

1996 Advent Centenary Souvenir. This first English translation

by T.V. Venkatasubramanian and David Godman, is a

slightly abridged version of the original article.

 

.....

(cont)

 

[The Maharshi:]

 

"What is this thing that we call 'mind'? Only thoughts.

But all thoughts expand from one and the same thought.

That one thought is the primary cause and basis of all

other thoughts. It is the 'I am the body' thought. Unless

this thought occurs first, the appearance of the many

external objects and the accompanying thought that

they are different from oneself will not occur. In deep sleep,

where the I-am-the-body idea is absent, the world does not

appear. Nor do other thoughts appear there.

 

When one wakes up, it is the thought "I am the body" that rises

first. In this thought there are two components: one is the body

and the other is "I". The body is something that appears and

disappears. It keeps changing all the time and its existence is

dependent on outside materials such as food. However,

the characteristic of "I" is directly opposed to this. That which

truly exists must exist all the time, but the body does not exist

all the time. Therefore, it cannot be real. The "I", though, exists

all the time in all the three states of waking, dream and sleep.

It is therefore real, whereas the body is unreal. Furthermore,

these two joined together cannot constitute a real entity. How

can night and day, darkness and light, exist together?

If light exists, there is no darkness; if there is darkness, there is

no light. In the same way, no entity comprising the body and "I"

exists. Therefore, the I-am-the-body thought is itself false.

 

If you begin to research into the world with this false thought

as the instrument, how can the truth be discovered?"

asked Bhagavan?

 

.................

....to be continued

taken from The Mountain Path, Deepam 2004