UPADESA SAARAM OF RAMANA MAHARSHI – AN APPRECIATION (Verse 17)

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UPADESA SAARAM OF RAMANA MAHARSHI – AN APPRECIATION

(Verse 17)

 

Maanasam tu maargane krite

Naiva maanasam maarga aarjavaath.

 

Now on enquiring thus " What is the mind " , it transpires that there

is no such thing as the mind. This is the direct path for all.

 

 

The vast majority of people constantly search various methods for

acquiring mental peace and happiness. The search for methods

indicates that we have already taken for granted that there exists a

thing called the `mind'. We therefore initiate all actions to bring

the mind under control. How to control the mind and its vagaries

implies the conclusion that there exists a thing called `mind'. What

is being asked here is the fundamental question as to what is mind?

The enquiry shows that there exists nothing factually as a thing

called the mind. The existence of the mind is false and illusionary

gets exposed in the radiant flame of the enquiry about the nature of

the mind. Here lies the significance of the Maharshi's words: Kim

maanasam? Maargane krite naiva maanasam.

 

Is the mind which we experience every moment is real or unreal?

Reality is defined in Vendanta as that which persists in all the

three periods of time - past, present and future – without any

change. The mind does not stand the test of this definition with

respect to its reality. The ever-changing mind surely cannot be

real. Then, is it unreal? No; it cannot be taken as unreal also; for

unreality implies total non-existence. In Vendanta, what cannot be

taken as real or unreal is called mithya, that is, illusion. An

illusion is that which is not truly real as it is experienced. For

example, if a man sees a `post' in twilight and mistakes it for a

ghost and trembles in fear, can we call the ghost-vision real? The

ghost vision and the consequent experience of fear is the result of

a mind that is confused and perturbed in the dimness of the light

and deceptive sight. So long as one is under the spell of the

illusory perception of the ghost, the ghostly experience thereof

becomes real to him. But the moment one realizes that it was only a

post, the ghost vision and its fear vanishes completely.

 

We give extra importance to the mind taking it to be a reality. Once

we come to touch that substratum (the `post' in the example) through

deep insight and understanding, that very moment the mind will be

realized as an illusory phenomenon. Thus, we conclude that when the

nature or swaroopa of the mind is investigated with penetrating

attention one comes upon the revelation that there does not exist a

thing called `mind' as such -- the `I' thought itself is the mind.

The reality of mind is that it is only a bundle of thoughts which

unremittingly invade us.

 

 

prof laxmi narain (prof_narain)

 

Source and courtesy: Sri Ramana Kendram, Hyderabad

This article was published in Sri Ramana Jyothi,

monthly magazine of the Kendram.