the quest for the Self

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The Teachings of BhagavanSri Ramana Maharshiin His Own WordsCHAPTER ONETHE

NATURE OF MANDevotee: Bhagavan often says: `The world is not outside you',or `everything depends on you', or `what is there outside you?' Ifind all this puzzling. The world existed before I was born andwill continue to exist after my death, as it has survived the deathof so many who once lived as I do now.Bhagavan:

Did I ever say that the world exists because of you? Ihave only put

to you the question `what exists apart fromyourself?' You ought to understand that by the Self neither thephysical body nor the subtle body is meant.What you are told is that if you once know the Self withinwhich all ideas exist, not excluding the idea of yourself, of otherslike you and of the world, you can realise the truth that there isa Reality, a Supreme Truth which is the Self of all the world younow see, the Self of all the selves, the one Real, the Supreme,the eternal Self, as distinct from the ego or individual

being,which is impermanent. You must not mistake the ego or thebodily

idea for the Self.D.: Then Bhagavan means that the Self is God?And in his next reply Bhagavan, as was his way, turned thediscussion

from theory to practice. Although the presentchapter is, on the whole, devoted to theory, it seemsappropriate to continue the dialogue so as to show how thetheory was put to practical use.B.:

You see the difficulty. Self-enquiry, `Who am I?' is adifferent technique from the meditation – `I am Siva', or `Iam He'. I rather emphasise Self-Knowledge, for you are firstconcerned with yourself before you proceed to know the worldor its Lord. The `I am He' or `I

am Brahman', meditation ismore or less mental, but the quest for the Self of which Ispeak is a direct method and is superior to it. For, the momentyou get into the quest for the Self and begin to go deeper, thereal Self is waiting there to receive you and then whatever isto be done is done by something else and you, as an individual,have no hand in it. In this process all doubts and discussionsare automatically given up, just as one who sleeps forgets allhis cares for the time being.