Guest guest Posted June 30, 2005 Report Share Posted June 30, 2005 THE MAHARSHI May/June 2003Vol. 13 - No. 3 Produced & Edited byDennis HartelDr. Anil K. Sharma Letters and Comments 'Who am I?' and Thoughts If you have a moment to reply about the 'Who am I?' practice, I would be grateful. After asking 'Who am I?', I immediately have thoughts - notice my breathing, hear a sound and know what it is, have a sensation of warmth in my forehead, or have the thought that I am waiting for a reply, etc. If I count these kind of thoughts as thoughts, I go to the 'To whom is this thought occurring?' question almost immediately and then end up repeating these two questions with the answer 'to me' over and over again, almost like a mantra. But if I wait for the mind to start wandering to something that is not related to the inquiry, and not a thought relating to the outer environment, then there is more of a pause. Is it better to wait for the mind to wander away like this before asking the second question? Or should I go to the second question as soon as I notice my breathing or the sound of a dog barking, etc.? The 'Who Am I?' inquiry is a means to effect subsidence of the mind into the Heart. The more silent your mind is when the inquiry is made, the quicker the results. That is why preliminary methods of stilling the mind are sometimes recommended. Pranayama (breath control), or simply watching the breath, can help for quieting the mind. Just to watch the breath, its incoming and outgoing, is one method prescribed by Sri Maharshi. It will spontaneously lead to the suspension of thoughts. At such quiet times you can hold onto the 'I - thought' to the exclusion of all else and the mind can, with the Guru's grace, sink into the Heart. You can adopt whatever practice helps in quieting the thoughts. But know that you must sink into your Source, the Self, ultimately, and that Self-inquiry is a direct means to do this. It may not appear practicable now, but at some point when the wheel of thoughts comes to a slow roll, or stops, you will find it immensely useful - Editor Sports Rekindle the Rivalries. Sign up for Fantasy Football Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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