the mind loses itself and the Heart shines forth

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The Teachings of BhagavanSri Ramana Maharshiin His Own WordsCHAPTER ONEHEART AND HEADWhen a room is dark you need a lamp to light it, butwhen the sun rises there is no need for a lamp; objects are seenwithout one. And to see the sun itself no lamp is needed becauseit is self-luminous. Similarly with the mind. The reflected lightof the mind is necessary to perceive objects, but to see the heartit is enough for the mind to be turned towards it. Then themind loses itself and the Heart shines forth.1It is a tantric practice to concentrate on one of the chakras orspiritual centres of the body, very often on the point betweenthe eyebrows. As will be shown in a later chapter, the heart onthe right side is not one of these chakras; nevertheless, in thefollowing passage, Bhagavan explains concisely his teachingthat concentration on the heart-centre is more effective thanon any other point but less effective than pure enquiry.Devotee: There are said to be six (subtle) organs of differentcolours in the chest, of which the spiritual heart is said to be theone situated two fingers' breadth, to the right from the centre!But the heart is also said to be formless. Does that mean that weshould imagine it to have a form and meditate on this?Bhagavan: No; only the quest – `Who am I?' is necessary. Thatwhich continues to exist throughout sleep and waking is the samebeing in both; but while waking there is unhappiness and thereforethe effort to remove it. When asked who awakes from sleep, yousay `I'. Hold fast to this `I'. If that is done the Eternal Beingreveals itself. The most important thing is the investigation of the`I' and not concentration on the heart centre. There is no suchthing as the `inner' and the `outer'. Both words mean the same ornothing at all. Nevertheless, there is also the practice ofconcentration on the heart-centre, which is a form of spiritualexercise. Only he who concentrates on the heart can remain awarewhen the mind ceases to be active and remains still, with nothoughts, whereas those who concentrate on any other centrecannot retain awareness without thought but only infer that themind was still after it has become active again.21 Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, 99.2 Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, 131.