the world is no more real than the individual who sees it

[Guest guest]

The Teachings of BhagavanSri Ramana Maharshiin His Own WordsCHAPTER ONESUFFERINGThe trouble is that it is extremely difficult to regard the bodyor the objective world as unreal. Bhagavan admitted that inthe following dialogue.Devotee: I have a toothache; is that only a thought?Bhagavan: Yes.D.: Then why can't I think that there is no toothache, andso cure myself?B.: One does not feel the toothache when one is absorbedin other thoughts or when asleep.D.: But still it remains.B.: So strong is man's conviction of the reality of the worldthat it is not easily shaken off. But the world is no more realthan the individual who sees it.Then a humorous exchange which illustrates the difficulty ofthe concept.D.: At present there is a Sino-Japanese war going on. If itis only in the imagination, can or will Sri Bhagavan imagine itnot to be going on and so put an end to it?B.: (laughing) The Bhagavan of the questioner (whom thequestioner sees as an external being) is as much a thought of hisas the Sino-Japanese War!1Finally, a quotation which shows how Bhagavan sometimesanswered on a more contingent plane, pointing out that it issuffering that makes a man discontented with the life of theego and spurs him on to seek Self-realisation.D.: But why should there be suffering now?B.: If there were no suffering, how could the desire to behappy arise? If that desire did not arise, how could the quest ofthe Self arise?D.: Then is all suffering good?B.: Yes. What is happiness? Is it a healthy and handsome body,regular meals and so on? Even an emperor has endless troublesalthough he may be in good health. So all suffering is due to thefalse notion `I am the body'. Getting rid of this is knowledge.21 Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, 451.2 Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi, 633.