Ramana Maharshi - Brahma jnana is not a knowledge to be acquired

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Question - Not having realised the Truth that the Self alone exists, should

I not adopt bhakti and yoga margas as being more suitable for purposes of

sadhana than vichara marga? Is not the Realization of one’s Absolute Being

that is, Brahma jnana, something quite unattainable to a layman like me?

 

Ramana Maharshi - Brahma jnana is not a knowledge to be acquired, so that

acquiring it one may obtain happiness. It is one’s ignorant outlook that one

should give up. The Self you seek to know is verily yourself. Your supposed

ignorance causes you needless grief like that of the ten foolish men who

grieved the ‘loss’ of the tenth man who was never lost.

 

The Ten Foolish men in the parable forded a stream and on reaching the other

shore wanted to make sure that all of them had in fact safely crossed the

stream. One of the ten began to count, but while counting others left

himself out. “I see only nine; sure enough we have lost one. Who can it be?”

he said.

 

“Did you count correctly?” asked another, and did the counting himself. But

he too counted only nine. One after the other each of the ten counted only

nine, missing himself. “We are only nine” they all agreed, “but who is the

missing one?”, they asked themselves. Every effort they made to discover the

‘missing’ individual failed. “Whoever he be that is drowned” said the

sentimental of ten fools, “we have lost him”. So saying he burst into tears,

and the rest of the nine followed suit.

 

Seeing them weeping on the river bank, a sympathetic wayfarer enquired for

the cause. They related what had happened and said that even after counting

themselves several times they could find no more than nine. On hearing the

story, but seeing all the ten before him, the wayfarer guessed what had

happened.

 

In order to make them know for themselves that they were really ten, that

all of them had come safe from the crossing, he told them, “Let each of you

count for himself but one after the other serially, one, two, three and so

on, while I shall give you each a blow so that all of you may be sure of

having been included in the count, and included only once. The tenth

‘missing’ man will then be found.” Hearing this they rejoiced at the

prospect of finding their ‘lost’ comrade and accepted the method suggested

by the wayfarer.

 

While the kind wayfarer gave a blow to each of the ten in turn, he that got

the blow counted himself aloud. “Ten” said the last man as he got the last

blow in his turn. Bewildered they looked at one another, “We are ten” they

said with one voice and thanked the wayfarer for having removed their grief.

That is the parable. From where was the tenth man brought in?

 

Was he ever lost? By knowing that he had been there all the while, did they

learn anything new? The cause of their grief was not the real loss of any

one of the ten, it was their own ignorance, rather their mere supposition

that one of them was lost – though they could not find who he was – because

they counted only nine.

 

Source:

http://bhagwan-ramana-maharshi.blogspot.com/2009/02/ramana-maharshi-brahma-jnana\

-is-not.html

 

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Om namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Prasanth Jalasutram