Book: Who am I? By Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi

****************SRI RAMANARPANAM ASTU ************************

Personal Notes from this Book: Who Am I? 

1. Bhagavan Ramana expressed this At Virupaksha Cave on Arunachala Hill, Tiruvannamalai. 

2. Vicharasangraham (Self-Enquiry), Nan Yar (Who am I?) constitutes the first set of instructions in the Master’s own words. 

3. The mind consists of thoughts. The ‘I’ thought is the first to arise in the mind. If persistently pursued(with extremely vigilant mind stay in its source, without allowing it to wander away and get lost in the mazes of thought created by itself), all other thoughts get destroyed, and finally the ‘I’ thought itself vanishes leaving the supreme non-dual Self alone. Concentrated mind helps a lot. 

5. The false identification of the Self with the phenomena of non-self such as the body and mind thus ends, and there is illumination, Sakshatkara.

6.  All other disciplines such as breath-control and meditation on the forms of God should be regarded as auxiliary practices. They are useful in so far as they help the mind to become quiescent and one-pointed. 

7. All living beings desire to be happy always, without misery like in state of deep sleep where there is no mind. 

8. I am not : 

• Seven humours (dhatus) - plasma, blood, muscle, fat, bone, bone marrow and reproductive fluid. In Ayurveda, they are called Sapta Dhatus - Rasa, Rakta, Mamsa, Meda, Asthi, Majja and Sukhra respectively. 
• Five cognitive sense organs( hearing, touch, sight, taste, and smell, which apprehend their respective objects, viz. sound, touch, colour, taste, and odour)
• Five cognitive senseorgans viz. the organs of speech, locomotion, grasping, excretion, and procreation, which have as their respective functions speaking, moving, grasping, excreting, and enjoying
• Five vital airs, prana, etc., which perform respectively the five functions of in-breathing -  

1. Prāṇa resides in Heart responsible for Talking, laughing, singing, dancing, fighting, the arts, crafts, tasks
2. Apāna resides in (downward breath) Anus responsible for Lets food and drink enter body, waste move down and out of body.
3. Udāna resides in(upward breath) Throat responsible for Sneezing, hiccuping, vomiting, coughing.
4. Samāna resides in Navel responsible for Mixes what is eaten and drunk.
5. Vyāna resides in All the joints responsible for Horripilation, sweating, stomach pain, bending of limbs, sense of touch

•  The five Upa-Pranas - Naga, Kurma, Devadatta, Krikala and Dhananjaya. 
• Even the mind which thinks   ‘not this’, ‘not this Neti Neti ...
• The residue, the remaining self awareness is what I am 

9. The nature of Awareness is existence-consciousness-bliss 

10. When the world which is what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realization of the Self which is the seer. There will not be realization of the Self even while the world is there (taken as real). The seer and the object seen are like the rope and the snake. Only one can exist not both. 

13. When the mind, which is the cause of all cognition’s and of all actions, becomes quiescent, the world will disappear.

14. ‘Mind’ is a wondrous power residing in the Self. thought is the nature of mind. Apart from thoughts, there is no independent entity called the world. In deep sleep there are no thoughts and there is no world. In the states of waking and dream, there are thoughts, and there is a world. Just as the spider emits the thread (of the web) out of itself and again withdraws it into itself, likewise the mind projects the world out of itself and again resolves it into itself. When the mind comes out of the Self, the world appears. Therefore, when the world appears (to be real), the Self does not appear; and when the Self appears (shines) the world does not appear. When one persistently inquires into the nature of the mind, the mind will end leaving the Self (as the residue). What is referred to as the Self is the Atman. The mind always exists only in dependence on something gross; it cannot stay alone. It is the mind that is called the subtle body or the soul (jiva). 

15. If one inquires as to where in the body the thought ‘I’ rises first, one would discover that it rises in the heart. That is the place of the mind’s origin. By the inquiry ‘Who am I?’. The thought ‘who am I?’ will destroy all other thoughts, and like the stick used for stirring the burning pyre, it will itself in the end get destroyed. Then, there will arise Self-realization.

16. The inquiry of “Who am I?” will take the mind to go back to its source; and the thought that arose will become quiescent. With repeated practice in this manner, the mind will develop the skill to stay in its source. When the mind that is subtle goes out through the brain and the sense organs, the gross names and forms appear; when it stays in the heart, the names and forms disappear. Not letting the mind go out, but retaining it in the Heart is what is called “inwardness” (antarmukha). Letting the mind go out of the Heart is known as “externalisation” (bahir-mukha). Thus, when the mind stays in the Heart, the ‘I’ which is the source of all thoughts will go, and the Self which ever exists will shine. Whatever one does, one should do without the egoity “I”. If one acts in that way, all will appear as of the nature of Siva (God).

15. The source is the same for both mind and breath. It is from that whence egoity originates that breath also originates.  Therefore, when the mind becomes quiescent, the breath is controlled, and when the breath is controlled the mind becomes quiescent. 

16. Breath is the gross form of mind. Till the time of death, the mind keeps breath in the body; and when the body dies the mind takes the breath along with it. Therefore, the exercise of breath-control is only an aid for rendering the mind quiescent (manonigraha); it will not destroy the mind (manonasa). 

17. If through other means it is sought to control the mind, the mind will appear to be controlled, but will again go forth. Through the control of breath also, the mind will become quiescent; but it will be quiescent only so long as the breath remains controlled, and when the breath resumes the mind also will again start moving and will wander as impelled by residual impressions.

18. Of all the restrictive rules, that relating to the taking of sattvic food in moderate quantities is the best; by observing this rule, the sattvic quality of mind will increase, and that will be helpful to Self-inquiry.

19. The practice of breath-control. meditation on the forms of God, repetition of mantras, restriction on food, etc., are but aids for rendering the mind quiescent.

20. The residual impressions (thoughts) of objects appear wending like the waves of an ocean. As the meditation on the Self rises higher and higher, the thoughts will get destroyed

21. One should persistently hold on to the meditation on the Self. Even if one be a great sinner, one should not worry and weep. There are not two minds - one good and the other evil; the mind is only one. It is the residual impressions that are of two kinds - auspicious and inauspicious. When the mind is under the influence of auspicious impressions it is called good; and when it is under the influence of inauspicious impressions it is regarded as evil.

22. However bad other people may be, one should bear no hatred for them. Both desire and hatred should be eschewed. All that one gives to others one gives to one’s self. If this truth is understood who will not give to others? When one’s self arises all arises; when one’s self becomes quiescent all becomes quiescent. To the extent we behave with humility, to that extent there will result good. If the mind is rendered quiescent, one may live anywhere.

23. If one resorts to contemplation of the Self intermittently, until the Self is  gained, that alone would do. As long as there are enemies within the fortress, they will continue to sally forth; if they are destroyed as they emerge, the fortress will fall into our hands.

24. What exists in truth is the Self alone. The world, the individual soul, and God are appearances in it. like silver in mother-of-pearl, these three appear at the same time, and disappear at the same time. The Self is that where there is absolutely no “I” thought. That is called “Silence”. The Self itself is the world; the Self itself is “I”; the Self itself is God; all is Siva, the Self.

25. We know that the train carries all loads, so after getting on it why should we carry our small luggage on our head to our discomfort, instead of putting it down in the train and feeling at ease? Since the supreme power of God makes all things move, why should we, without submitting ourselves to it, constantly worry ourselves with thoughts as to what should be done and how, and what should not be done and how not?

26. As thoughts arise, destroying them utterly without any residue in the very place of their origin is non-attachment. Just as the pearl-diver ties a stone to his waist, sinks to the bottom of the sea and there takes the pearls, so each one of us should be endowed with non-attachment, dive within oneself and obtain the Self-Pearl.

27. One can know oneself only with one’s own eye of knowledge, and not with somebody else’s. Does he who is Rama require the help of a mirror to know that he is Rama? 

28. Just as one who wants to throw away garbage has no need to analyse it and see what it is, so one who wants to know the Self has no need to count the number of categories or inquire into their characteristics; what he has to do is to reject altogether the categories that hide the Self. The world should be considered like a dream.

29. The goal of conclusive teaching is that the mind should be rendered quiescent; once this has been understood there is no need for endless reading. In order to quieten the mind one has only to inquire within oneself what one’s Self is; how could this search be done in books? One should know one’s Self with one’s own eye of wisdom. The Self is within the five sheaths; but books are outside them. Since the Self has to be inquired into by discarding the five sheaths, it is futile to search for it in books. There will come a time when one will have to forget all that one has learned. 

30. We imagine through our ignorance that we derive happiness from objects. When the mind goes out, it experiences misery. In truth, when its desires are fulfilled, it returns to its own place and enjoys the happiness that is the Self.

31. A person who has been going about in the sun feels cool when he reaches the shade. Someone who keeps on going from the shade into the sun and then back into the shade is a fool. A wise man stays permanently in the shade. Similarly, the mind of the one who knows the truth does not leave Brahman. The mind of the ignorant, on the contrary, revolves in the world, feeling miserable, and for a little time returns to Brahman to experience happiness. In fact, what is called the world is only thought. When the world disappears, i.e. when there is no thought, the mind experiences happiness; and when the world appears, it goes through misery.

32. Remaining quiet is what is called wisdom-insight. To remain quiet is to resolve the mind in the Self. Telepathy, knowing past, present and future happenings and clairvoyance do not constitute wisdom-insight.