Ramana Maharshi says Our body is like the shop rented by the businessman

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Knowing that all misery arises only as a result of the fundamental error –

the original sin – of attending to second and third persons instead of

attending to and knowing the true nature of the first person, Bhagavan Sri

Ramana graciously appeared on earth to advise humanity, “Throughout the

waking and dream states you attend only to second and third persons, and in

consequence you experience endless misery. But in sleep, when you do not

attend to any second or third person, you do not experience any misery.

Overlooking the peaceful happiness that you experienced while asleep, you

search for happiness in the waking state by attending to innumerable

external objects. However, does not the fact that you experienced happiness

during sleep in the absence of those objects, indicate that happiness lies

not in the objects but in you, the first person or subject? Therefore why

not you try, even in the waking state, to attend not to second and third

persons but to the first person ‘I’ ?”

 

Those of us who pay heed to this advice of Sri Bhagavan and who therefore

desire to follow the course of treatment prescribed by Him, are called

mumukshus or aspirants for liberation. In order to qualify as an aspirant,

one must have the absolute conviction that happiness, the sole aim of all

living beings, can be obtained not from external objects but only from one’s

own inmost Self. When one has this qualification, an intense yearning will

arise in one’s heart to try to attend to and know Self. Indeed’, for a true

aspirant the desire and effort to know Self will become the most important

part of his life, and all other things will be regarded as being only of

secondary importance. When such an intense yearning arises in one, success

is assured, for ‘where there is a will there is a way’.

 

On hearing this, however, some devotees wonder whether it is necessary then

to withdraw from all activities in order to be able to practise

Self-attention. “If we are to follow this sadhana of Self--attention in all

earnestness, will not work prove to be an obstacle? But if we give up all

work, how are we to provide the food, clothing and shelter required by the

body?” they ask. However, whenever devotees asked Sri Bhagavan such

questions, He used to reply that work need not be a hindrance to spiritual

practice (sadhana). This does not mean, of course, that an aspirant should

work in the same spirit as a wordly man or that he should work with the same

aim in view. The spirit in which and the aim with which an aspirant should

work in this world, can be illustrated by the following example:

 

Suppose a businessman rents a shop in the heart of a big city for Rs.

1,000/- a month. If from his business he aims to make only sufficient money

to pay the rent for the shop, will it not be a worthless business? Should

not his aim in renting the shop be to earn a profit of Rs. 10,000/- a month?

On the other hand, if he does not make sufficient money even to pay the

rent, will he be able to remain in the shop to earn his profit?

 

Our body is like the shop rented by the businessman.The aim with which we

rent this body is to realize Self, while the rent we have to pay for the

body is food, clothing and shelter. In order to pay this rent, it is

necessary for us to work, using the mind, speech and body as our

instruments. If we do not pay the rent, we cannot live in the body and earn

the great profit of Self-knowledge. However, we should not spend our whole

life-all our time and effortin working to pay the rent. The mind, speech and

body should work only for that amount of time and with that amount of effort

which is required for paying the rent – for providing the food, clothing and

shelter necessary for the body. If instead we devote all our time and effort

towards accumulating comforts and conveniences for the body, as worldly

people do, we would be just like the worthless businessman who works only to

pay the rent and who never tries to make a profit. Therefore, a sincere

aspirant should arrange his work in such a way that he will spend only a

portion of his time and energy for maintaining the body, so that he can

utilize the remaining time and energy in striving to earn the great profit

of Self-knowledge.

 

For some aspirants prarabdha will be arranged by God or Guru in such a way

that they need to do little or no work to maintain their body, whereas for

other aspirants it may be arranged in such a way that they have to spend

most of their time in working for the maintenance of the body. But in

whatever way the prarabdha is arranged, it is arranged only for the

aspirant’s own good, that is, for his ultimate attainment of Self-knowledge.

Moreover, since prarabdha determines only the outward activities of the body

and mind, it can in no way obstruct the inward desire and yearning for

Self-knowledge. If one has an intense yearning for Self-knowledge, the

Guru’s Grace will certainly help one in all ways, both from within and

without, to enable one to attend to Self.

 

Source: The Path of Sri Ramana Part 1 Book By Sri Sadhu Om

 

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Om namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Prasanth Jalasutram