Ramana Maharshi says not to Ignore the Self and think world is real

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Q: If the jnani and the ajnani perceive the world in like manner, where is

the difference between them?

 

A: Seeing the world, the jnani sees the Self which is the substratum of all

that is seen; the ajnani, whether he sees the world or not, is ignorant of

his true being, the Self.

 

Take the instance of moving pictures on the screen in the cinema-show. What

is there in front of you before the play begins ? Merely the screen. On that

screen you see the entire show, and for all appearances the pictures are

real. But go and try to take hold of them. What do you take hold of ? Merely

the screen on which the pictures appeared. After the play, when the pictures

disappear, what remains ? The screen again.

 

So with the Self. That alone exists, the pictures come and go. If you hold

on to the Self, you will not be deceived by the appearance of the pictures.

Nor does it matter at all if the pictures appear or disappear. Ignoring the

Self the ajnani thinks the world is real, just as ignoring the screen he

sees merely the pictures, as if they existed apart from it. If one knows

that without the seer there is nothing to be seen, just as there are no

pictures without the screen, one is not deluded.

 

The jnani knows that the screern and its pictures are only the Self. With

the pictures the Self is in its manifest form; without the pictures it

remains in the unmanifest form. To the jnani it is quite immaterial if the

Self is in one form or the other. He is always the Self. But the ajnani

seeing the jnani active gets confounded.

 

Source: Be as you are – The teachings of sri Ramana Maharishi Book

 

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Om namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Prasanth Jalasutram