Who Am I With Comments
Who Am I With Comments
by
Ramana Maharshi
Introduction
I write this commentary on Ramana Maharshis Who am I? because it is such an important teaching and deserves to be looked
at deeply. This text comes from Ramanas earliest spiritual instructions, when, still in silence, he scratched answers to questions
into the sand. These were written down, printed, and the resulting
pamphlet was provided to visitors to read when they came to visit
him. Who am I? came from these answers that Ramana wrote at
Guhai Namasavaya Temple in 1899 to questions written by a
seeker, Sivaprakasam Pillai.
There are several versions of Who am I? that have been published. This all text version is the only one that was actually
edited by Ramana himself. As such, I felt that it is the most
authoritive version.
Why do I write this? I have reflected on this question. The first
reason was to more carefully read, reflect, and meditate on this
valuable teaching, the first instance where Ramanas teachings
were recorded. The second reason is that my teacher, Nome, has
helped me understand some of these teachings, so that I could
start to use them in my practice. I want to offer to others what I
have been taught, so that they might take a deeper approach
themselves to the inquiry that Who am I? readily invites.
I have found that this kind of spiritual teaching is best absorbed in
small chunks, and that is how I will present it, one paragraph at a
time, along with my comments on that paragraph.
The ancient Upanishadic method of spiritual parctice is:
shravaNa (hearing of the truth, or reading it),
manana (reflecting on its meaning),
nididhyAsana (meditation leading to the full knowledge
of the identity of the individual self and the Universal Self).
The intent is that you meditate deeply on each paragraph. Take it
deep within to where it becomes your experience. This booklet is
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not about what you understand, but rather what you experience
directly.
The comments express my present understanding drawn from my
own inquiry, and give the reader one or more ways to approach
the teaching being presented. Also included in some of the comments are Chan Buddhist and Zen Buddhist quotes. These quotes
show parallels between the Advaita Vedanta of Ramana Maharshi, and these other radical self-knowledge teachings.
I look at this as a work-in-progress, rather than a fixed, completed
book. I am a seeker, not a sage. The first version was done in
2000. A full edit was again done in 2015, resulting in this version.
The translation that I am using is the one from Osbornes Collected
Works of Ramana Maharshi.
I write this commentary as a seeker who has had the Grace of a
living teacher, Nome, at Society of Abidance in Truth (SAT), in
Santa Cruz, CA. (More information about SAT can be found at
www.satramana.org .)
If there are any errors, they are due to ignorance or incomplete
understanding on the part of this seeker. If there is any wisdom or
understanding, it is due to the teaching of my teacher, Nome, and
the deep wisdom expressed by Ramana Maharshi.
Any comments or insights that you might have are always
welcome.
Richard Clarke
[email protected]
WHO AM I?
Paragraph 1
Every living being longs always to be happy, untainted by sorrow;
and everyone has the greatest love for himself, which is solely due
to the fact that happiness is his real nature. Hence, in order to reside in that inherent and untainted happiness, which indeed he
daily experiences when the mind is subdued in deep sleep, it is
essential that he should know himself. For obtaining such knowledge the enquiry, Who am I? in quest of Self is the best means.
Comments
Where does happiness come from? If we believe that happiness
comes from things outside ourselves, or from our activities or
thoughts, then this is where we look. When we realize where
happiness really comes from, always from within, it intensifies
our desire for liberation, and our spiritual practice.
The wise say that the desires of the mind cloud and obscure our
innate happiness. So when we get something desired, our mind is
quiet for a time and we experience this happiness that we are.
After a while, the mind becomes active again, and the happiness
is again obscured as if by clouds.
Ramana also uses, again and again, discussions of the three states
(awakening, dreaming and deep sleep) to talk about who we are.
Who we are must always be true, including in all three states. He
calls on the deep sleep state here, since during that state there is no
mental activity, and this state is universally seen as one that is
deeply peaceful. We still exist, even in deep sleep. From where
comes this sense of existence?
Practice Notes
Where does happiness come from? Look within yourself. There
are outer events that might seem to bring happiness, but where
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thoughts. When the thoughts stop (or you do not give them reality) then the ignorance stops, too (at least for that moment).
This is so important. As long as the mind is active, there is a separate world, and ego-I identity within it. And this mind view is
then projected onto the seeming world and held to be reality. As the
Chan poet, Stone House wrote, The mind creates the world.
The initial focus of all knowledge-based spirituality is quieting the
mind. Ramana said that best for this is Who am I? With this
approach, the path and the goal are one and the same.
When you inquire into the Self, it is not to gain the Self; rather it
is to eliminate the ignorance. Unless the ignorance is eliminated,
you will not have the direct Knowledge of the Self that you are.
Practice Notes
When you have an erroneous idea, then obtain the knowledge
that shows the error, where does the erroneous idea go? Was it
ever real??
Has anyone ever seen the world without a mind? When your
mind is quiet, do you still exist? Who knows the mind? Does the
sense of I arise from this mind?
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The mind is a unique power (sakti) in the Atman, whereby thoughts
occur to one. On scrutiny as to what remains after eliminating all
thoughts, it will be found that there is no such thing as mind apart
from thought. So then, thoughts themselves constitute the mind.
Comments
This seems clear: The mind is just a bundle of thoughts. What is
the mind but thoughts? How can you verify this for yourself? One
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think you are a body, then there must be a world for the body to
act and experience within. Discover that you are not a body, and
then it is easier to know that you are not a thought.
As you relax the hold of your mental concepts, you deepen spiritually. Through the filter of the mind we see existence as separate:
world, ego-self, and others. When the mind is not active, there is
no separation.
The existence of a separate world also includes the existence of
the body, the mind and the ego. Holding to the world and trying
to become free of the ego, then, has a basic problem since they
appear together and seem to coexist.
What one sees as real is where one places his identity. Some
could say that the whole point of inquiry is to see that Reality is
within. Finally the seeker may be able to use this spiritual
knowledge to see that his own identity is Awareness, not with the
ten thousand things (to use a Buddhist expression).
I have been taught that what one experiences is a matter of where
one takes his stand. If the stand is as body, there is the world, life,
death, etc. If ones stand is as the mind, then ideas, moods and
emotions seem to control and limit ones experience. If ones stand
is as Being-Consciousness-Bliss, then no more needs to be done.
This is where Ramana took his stand and shed his light onto all
who visited him (and even those who just read about him).
Practice Notes
It can be useful in your inquiry to look at where your own sense
of Reality comes from. Does it come from the objects of your
sense perceptions? Or is it something more interior, something
that comes from deep within yourself? If you think reality comes
from the objects of your senses, what about the sense of reality in
a dream? Where does this come from?
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to come; he does not say that it is in the hands of the gods, or fate.
The seeker is directed to practice By a steady and continuous investigation. For practice to be steady, it has to be deeper than the
mind. The mind cannot hold anything steady for long. This is
practice far deeper than a few minutes each day, at a usual time
and place. This extends through what can be called daily life.
Ramana also here equates the mind with the ego or jiva (individual self). He says that mind is just another name for ego. What is
the mind? A bundle of thoughts. What is the ego? A thought, and
a specific one the first thought, the sense of individuality. Eliminate all thoughts and the ego never rises. How do you eliminate
all thoughts? Ramana advised Self-inquiry, to look into the source
of the I-thought. Ramana taught that all other thoughts depend
on this I-thought, eliminate this thought and all other thoughts
are also eliminated. How do you eliminate the ego? Discover that
it never existed to begin with, that it is just illusion.
Practice Notes
What is your practice like? Do you meditate daily? Or do you let
your ego run your practice? With daily practice one often finds that
the inquiry starts happening in other times and places, and that a
kind of Self-inquiry current gets going. This is a very good step.
Does your inquiry extend to other parts of daily life? Do you
inquire of dreams? In the midst of activity? When walking, do
you try to know what is always still?
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That which arises in the physical body as I is the mind. If one
enquires whence the I-thought in the body arises in the first instance, it will be found that it is from hydayam or the Heart. That
is the source and stay of the mind. Or again, even if one merely
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The first and foremost thought that arises in the mind is the Ithought. It is only after the rise or origin of the I-thought that
innumerable other thoughts arise. In other words, only after the
first personal pronoun, I, has arisen, do the second and third
personal pronouns (you, he, etc.) occur to the mind; and they
cannot subsist without the former.
Comments
All thoughts are built upon just one thought. This one thought is
the I-thought, I am an individual. First rises the I-thought.
Then rises the thoughts of others and of the world. Thoughts
then have as their source the first thought, the I-thought. So really, to put an end to thoughts, you do not need to eliminate every
thought you might ever have. You only need to eliminate one
thought, the first thought, the I-thought. Eliminate by discovering that it never existed to start with.
This makes it easier for the seeker. One does not need to stop all
thoughts. This is a key point in Ramanas teaching. Just inquire
into the source for this I-thought. That is all that is needed.
Practice Notes
An exercise that we were given at a retreat was to catch a
thought (any thought), and take that thought apart to see how
it is based on the I-thought. This might be worthwhile for you
to try. Ways to tell the I-thought? Well, if the view is one that in
any way is of an individual, particular person, in this (or that)
time and place, then it is based on the I-thought.
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Since every other thought can occur only after the rise of the I15
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turn it into inquiry. Notice that Ramana talks about a process that
has several steps. First is the inquiry, For whom is this? The initial answer is clearly for the mind/ego, For me. Notice that this
inquiry is for the mind, and its purpose is to use the minds power
and turn it within. Already the thought has stopped. After the
mind responds, To me the inquiry continues to the source of
the mind, your own Consciousness = Being.
The mind does not provide its own light. It is illuminated by
the light of Consciousness. Consciousness is self-effulgent, that is,
it lights up itself, with no outside source. Is there something
within you that is lit up by its own light?
Practice Notes
We have habits. Habits of mind (called tendencies, or vasanas,
in Advaita) are what bind us. So this process makes use of the
tendencies to make a new habit of turning the mind within. Our
old habit is to look to the world for our reality. We can make a
new habit to see that all is within us as our Existence, our Consciousness. This uses tendencies to aid our practice. When the
stick that stirs the fire burns up, all these tendencies go, too.
Each tendency is based on a misidentification coupled with an
idea of the source of happiness. The desire for happiness is basic
to us all. The tendency is based on the false idea that happiness
comes from outside, from the world. The source of happiness, is,
as you discover through inquiry, within. When you know this
you see even your most problematic tendency is really the urge to
discover your deepest self.
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It is only when the subtle mind is externalized through the activity of
the intellect and the sense-organs that the gross name and form con18
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stituting the world appear. When, on the other hand, the mind
stays firmly in the Heart, they recede and disappear. Restraint of
the out-going mind and its absorption in the Heart is known as introversion (antarmukda-drishti). The release of mind and its emergence in the Heart is known as objectiveness (bahirmukda-drihshi).
Comments
My teacher says that your experience depends on where you
stand, where you put your identity. Standing as the body, as
the ego-I, the mind goes out and there is the world (when
standing as a separate identity, then there is the separate world).
Standing as the Self, the mind stays in the Heart, and the separate
world with its names and forms is no longer the experience.
Standing as the One, there is no other.
Thus Ramanas teaching is to look to the first (person), rather
than the second and third. The second and third, indeed, all others, depend on the first person for their existence; they
are defined by their seeming relationship with the first.
Practice Notes
Notice your own stand. Where do you put your identity? Is it as a
body? A mind? A job? A family member? As a person in a relationship with another person? Who are you if you are none of these?
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If in this manner the mind becomes absorbed in the Heart, the
ego or I. Which is the center of the multitude of thoughts and
pure Consciousness or Self, which subsists during all the states of
the mind, alone remains resplendent. It is this state where there is
not the slightest trace of the I-thought, that is the true Being of
oneself. And that is called Quiescence or Mouna (Silence).
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Comments
This comment comes mainly from what I have been taught,
rather than my direct experience. My inquiry has brought me to
where the mind becomes quiet. I have experiences of greater
depth, but these still come and go.
Samadhi means absorption. There are three different kinds of
samadhi that Ramana talks about.
One is experienced as being like the deeply quiet mind during
deep sleep, kevala nirvikalpa samadhi. In Talks, #187, 13 March
1936, Ramana describes kevala this way: the mind lies immersed in the Light of the Self. (whereas the same lies in darkness
in deep sleep).
Another is nirvikalpa samadhi, in which the mind has
resolved itself into the Self and been lost.
These first two are said to be states, affecting the mind. They
come and go.
Finally there is sahaja samadhi, described by Ramana as the natural state. In sahaja samadhi you are so established in the spiritual
consciousness or the Self, that even while moving and acting,
you remain in this inner awareness.
Sahaja samadhi is where Ramana stood. It is where my teacher
stands. It is beyond states.
Ramana instructs the seeker to look deeply within to what is true
during all states of the mind. These three states are waking,
dreaming and deep sleep. What is it that is always present?
Practice Notes
In my deepest inquiry I have known Silence. In this Silence, all that
might become a distraction is just like foam on a bubble; insubstan20
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tial and not at all binding. Sometimes when I meditate, I look at the
Silence. You can hear it behind all the noise. The noise exists in Silence and depends on Silence for its very existence. Notice
the Silence within yourself. Under all your sense experiences and
thoughts there is this silence in which all these arise. Can you find
this place within yourself? Is this quiet ever disturbed?
I have also experienced the Bliss of Being. As I begin inquiry, I
look to see if I exist. In existence there is Bliss. Sometimes I can
feel this bliss. After this kind of meditation, maybe my eyes are
filled with tears.
What is your deepest state? What within you is always?
Paragraph 15
This state of mere inherence in pure Being is known as the Vision
of Wisdom. Such inherence means and implies the entire subsidence of the mind in the Self. Nothing other than this, and no
psychic powers of the mind such as thought-reading, telepathy,
and clairvoyance, can be Wisdom.
Comments
Ramana instructs the seeker to know the deepest Wisdom. Do
not stop until the experience, until the Knowledge, is pure Being,
is only Consciousness. The generous Sage tells the seeker that he
should not be satisfied, should not stop (at the ego-gratifying state)
at mere powers. Powers are not Wisdom. The direct Knowledge of Consciousness, the direct stand, as none other than
Being, is the only appropriate goal for the seeker of Self-realization. Keep going deeper until the seeker and That which is
sought are known as one and the same, until you are what you
know. Here is nonduality. Here is Siva. Here is where Ramana
stood and shone on all with the Light of Being.
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Practice Notes
Where is your present stand? Is it as an individual? Is there any
individuality in pure Being? Does your sense of I rise from this
seeming individual? Or is this individual something that you know?
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Atman alone exists and is real. The threefold reality of world, individual soul, and God is, like the illusory appearance of silver in the
mother of pearl, an imaginary creation in the Atman. They appear
and disappear simultaneously. The Self alone is the world, the I
and God. All that exists is but the manifestation of the Supreme.
Comments
Ramana restates the basic nondual idea, expressed from the time
of the Upanishads, Tat tvam Asi, Thou art That. Another way
this is sometimes stated is you are that which you seek.
All that appears as separate to the conceptual mind, all that
comes and goes, is none other than Atman, none other than Self.
There is no separate reality, there is no separate ego or individual,
these are just imaginations of mind. There is no creation, no passing from creation. There is no reality that is outside of, or separate
from Being-Consciousness-Bliss. The central element of Self-inquiry is to discover this reality as ones own identity, to have this
as ones own Knowledge (capitalized to stand apart from mere
mental knowledge). This Knowledge is at the same level and certainty as you know that you exist. There is no difference here between what you know and who you are.
I think that this teaching is the most radical of the Advaita Vedanta
teachings. When people visit SAT for satsang, you can see them listen to the teaching, and be taken by the wonder and beauty of Thou
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one moment when you exist and ego does not, can you be ego?
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For instance, the mind subsides by the practice of pranayama (restraint and control of breath and vital forces); yet such subsidence
lasts only as long as the control of breath and vital forces continues; and when they are released, the mind also gets released and
immediately, becoming externalized, it continues to wander
through the force of its subtle tendencies.
Comments
This form of meditation, pranayama, is concentration-based. Here
the mind is focused on some point of meditation (the breath), and
the mind becomes filled with what it is focused upon, and the
other thoughts stop as long as the focus remains. When the
focus is interrupted, the mind again flows in habitual ways.
The issue with any form of concentrative meditation is that the
concentration is mental, and is naturally on some physical or
mental form. It is difficult to move to the formless through a form.
Self-inquiry is a formless meditation. That is its power. It is hard
to get to a thought-free state using the mind. The whole purpose
of inquiry is to move deeper than this mind.
Early in my practice of Self-inquiry, though, I would use a form of
pranayama as a means to quiet the mind (and to improve my concentration). Then, once the mind was quiet(er), I would start the
inquiry. I asked about this in satsang and was told that this is OK;
that it is important for the seeker to develop the ability to concentrate, and that pranayama is a fine was to develop it but that it is
not a substitute for Self-inquiry. Inquiry needs a quiet mind to get
started. For me this has been a good way to begin. Once I feel the
peace of the quiet mind, then I can start the inquiry.
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Practice Notes
Just close your eyes and watch breath flow in and out for a while.
Does it feel relaxing and peaceful? Do your mind, your thoughts,
slow and then get quiet? When you stop watching your breath
does your mind then return to its previous state (if not right away,
then after a while)? Who knows this flow of breath?
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The source of the mind is the same as that of breath and vital
forces. It is really the multitude of thoughts that constitutes the
mind; and the I-thought is the primal thought of the mind,
and is itself the ego. But breath too has its origin at the same place
whence the ego rises. Therefore, when the mind subsides, breath
and vital forces also subside; and conversely, when the latter subside, the former also subsides.
Comments
The source of the mind is Consciousness, which is also the source
of breath and the I-thought. Ramana says when mind quiets,
so does breath, and when breath slows, so does the mind. This experience is the same for everybody. This mind-breath connection
is probably why breath control is recommended by some teachings slow the mind by slowing the breath. I also have heard of
a yogic idea of the connection between breath and the mind, saying, With each breath comes a new thought. So certainly there
seems to be a deep connection.
Ramana continues to say that the mind is just thoughts, and that
the I-thought is the root of all other thoughts.
Practice Notes
Just notice within yourself what Ramana tells us: thought and
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helpful in quieting the mind, but will not put an end to the mind.
Ramana teaches that only Self-inquiry can do that.
Practice Notes
Look at your breath and see, Is breath objective to me? If
breath is something that you know, then who you are must be
closer to the knowing that what is known. Who knows this
breath? Who am I?
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Like breath control, meditation on form, incantations, invocations,
and regulation of diet are only aids to control of the mind. Through
the practice of meditation or invocation the mind becomes onepointed. Just as the elephants trunk, which is otherwise restless, will
become steady if it is made to hold an iron chain, so that the elephant
goes its way without reaching out for any other object, so the ever-restless mind, which is trained and accustomed to a name or form
through meditation or invocation, will steadily hold on to that alone.
Comments
As long as the meditation is on an object, will the meditator be
brought to the non-objective? This meditation is mental, using concentration on the object to stop other thoughts. Concentration is
only effective so long as the concentration remains. Can any form
of concentration be continuous? Can the meditator continue to
concentrate in his dreams? In deep sleep? These various practices
can strengthen the mind; improving ones ability to direct the
mind. Concentration is not a substitute for inquiry, though.
As you learn that you can direct the mind, something else starts
to happen; you learn that you can make choices that turn the
mind more within. Now you are making use of the way that
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quantity, is of all the rules of conduct the best; and it is most conducive to the development of the satvic qualities of the mind.
These, in their turn, assist one in the practice of Atma vichara or
enquiry in quest of the Self.
Comments
Ramana talked about three guna-s. Guna means quality, attribute, characteristic. You always are in one guna or another. The
three guna-s are:
Sattva: buoyant, illuminating, light, knowledge,
happiness.
Rajas: agitation, stimulating, mobile, pain, action.
Tamas: heavy, enveloping, dark, dull, indifferent, laziness,
inertia.
This is an important point for a seeker. Make choices that contribute to your spiritual well-being. You can look at your life and
see what makes your practice prosper and what does not. Then
you can make new choices that support the practice. Make
choices that are satvic.
A satvic mind is what is needed for inquiry.
One thing that my teacher, Nome, recommends is that periodically
you should review your practice and see what is working and what
is not. Then continue to choose what is working for you spiritually.
Practice Notes
Since I have started regular practice I have learned to make different choices. I see in my own practice (and life) that generally I am
more satvic. I have fewer times of agitation (rajas), or dullness
(tamas). This provides a strong support to practice.
What is working in your spiritual practice? What helps it? What
seems to hinder it? What choices can you make to deepen your
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Practice Notes
One way to start to move your inquiry outside of your seated
meditation time is to use moments in everyday life differently.
When standing in line at the supermarket, notice your sense of
being and ask, Where does this sense of being come from?
When driving in traffic listen to the sound of the tires on the road
and ask, For whom is this sound?
Look at a tendency. Investigate it, see what is the misidentification. See the idea of happiness that comes with the tendency. Inquire: Is this who I am? What is the source of happiness?
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However sinful a person may be, if he would stop wailing inconsolably: Alas! I am a sinner, how shall I attain Liberation?
and, casting away even the thought that he is a sinner, if he
would zealously carry on meditation on the Self, he would most
assuredly get reformed.
Comments
Whatever was the identity of the seeker, all that is needed is to
turn the focus within, to the Self. This spiritual path does not require
purification, nor is it limited by the karma of the seeker. Again,
Ramana says, most clearly, that all that is needed is Self-inquiry.
Practice Notes
What is required for liberation? The desire for liberation that
turns the seeker to practice.
How strong is your desire for liberation?
What is required is to stop thought. Do this through repeated and
continuous inquiry.
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So long as subtle tendencies continue to inhere in the mind, it is
necessary to carry on the enquiry: Who am I? As and when
thoughts occur, they should one and all be annihilated then and
there, at the very place of their origin, by the method of enquiry
in quest of the Self.
Comments
Gross tendencies are related to the I am the body notion. Subtle tendencies are at the level of thought (and misidentification
with various bundles of thought like emotions or moods). Ramana instructs the seeker that as long as the seekers identity is
with anything other than the Self, then the seeker needs to keep
the inquiry going. As long as you can inquire, then inquire. When
you stand as the Self, then no more inquiry is possible. The stick
(of inquiry) is finally burnt in the fire.
Practice Notes
Ramana tells the seeker what to do with thoughts (or one
thought, any thought): to stop the thought, when noticed, and
stop it not by some act of control, but rather with inquiry. For
whom is this thought? is the classic form of this inquiry. This
inquiry turns the attention of the seeker from the thought back to
the Self.
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Not to desire anything extraneous to oneself constitutes vairaga
(dispassion) or nirasa (desirelessness). Not to give up ones hold on
the Self constitutes jnana (knowledge). But really vairaga and
jnana are one and the same. Just as the pearl diver, tying stones to
his waist, dives down into the depths and gets the pearl from the
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sea bed, so every aspirant pledged to vairaga can dive deep into
himself and realize the precious Atman. If the earnest seeker
would only cultivate the constant and deep contemplative remembrance (smrti) of the true nature of the Self till he has realized it, that alone would suffice. Distracting thoughts are like the
enemy in the fortress. As long as they are in possession of it, they
will certainly sally forth. But if, as and when they come out, you
put them to the sword, the fortress will finally be captured.
Comments
Dispassion is the result of discrimination. Dispassion in Sanskrit
is Vairaga. Vairaga roughly translates as dispassion, detachment,
or renunciation, in particular renunciation from the pains and
pleasures in the material world (the world of illusion, Maya). First
the seeker sees that what is real (Atman, Brahman, Being-Consciousness-Bliss, the Absolute, God, Buddha-mind, by whatever
name) is within. Once the conviction that this is so gets strong
enough, the seeker starts to look within rather than among the
objective. This is called an inward-turned mind.
Discrimination leads to dispassion. Dispassion really comes from
the knowledge of the real source of happiness. You give up what
you like for what you love. You look for happiness from its
source, rather than the indirect way, from the objective.
I have noticed that when a seeker is at this place of practice, the
practice starts to have a different motion, with the seeker being
pulled into Being. From here, practice takes on its own motion.
This dispassion/desirelessness ends up being effortless. It naturally occurs once the seekers focus turns deeply within.
Constant remembrance of the true nature of the Self is another
approach mentioned by Ramana. Even here, the seeker is told to
keep the focus on the first (person, I-I), rather than on all of
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Comments
Ramana here talks about surrender. You should note that when
Ramana discusses surrender, the surrender he describes is complete. The seeker surrenders ego and the sense of mine, and focuses entirely upon the Supreme Lord, the Self. After this
surrender there is no such thing as letting ego drive the seekers
choices. The ego is surrendered, and it no longer plays a part Ramana says this leads to Firm and disciplined inherence in the Atman.
Then the seeker is advised to treat individual cares, concerns and
doubts, like the luggage carried on the train. Why carry them to
your destination when the train carries them for you? Put them
down the train that carries the seeker takes all the baggage, too.
This surrender is a giving up of the mine. Everything that happens is not the working of my will, but is that of a higher power.
The giving up of mine is equivalent to the discovery, in inquiry,
that the ego never existed to begin with. Either approach demolishes the ego.
Practice Notes
Are you the doer of action, or are you the awareness. Are you the
one who knows the action or the one who seems to act. You are
the unknown knower of all that is known Who is this? Inquire.
Paragraph 30
That which is Bliss is also the Self. Bliss and the Self are not distinct and separate but are one and the same. And That alone is
real. In no single one of the countless objects of the mundane
world is there anything that can be called happiness. It is through
sheer ignorance and unwisdom that we fancy that happiness is
obtained from them. On the contrary, when the mind is external37
WHO AM I?
ized, it suffers pain and anguish. The truth is that every time our
desires get fulfilled, the mind, turning to its source, experiences
only that happiness which is natural to the Self. Similarly in deep
sleep, in spiritual trance (samadhi), when fainting, when a desired
object is obtained, or when evil befalls an object considered undesirable, the mind turns inwards and enjoys that Bliss of Atman.
Thus wandering astray, forsaking the Self, and returning to it
again and again is the interminable and wearisome lot of the
mind.
Comments
Sat-Chit-Ananda Being-Consciousness-Bliss is one ancient
name for the Absolute (or Self, God, Brahman, Atman, Buddhanature or whatever other name is used). The three terms are used
together because in a seekers actual experience they are all one
and the same, just different names or aspects.
Happiness, Ramana says, is not intrinsic to any object, person, place,
or experience. Ramana started the Who am I? teaching by writing about happiness, saying that everyone wants happiness, always.
But where is the source of happiness? In this paragraph Ramana
shows that the source of all happiness is within. In fact, the source
of happiness is our very Being. One seeks happiness in external objects, events, circumstances, people. Even the best of this happiness
comes and goes. The spiritual path is a search for happiness that
does not come and go. The only happiness that doesnt come and go
is the Bliss of Being. This can be continuous only when the identity
is moved to the solid Knowledge that I am That.
Practice Notes
Can there be Being without Consciousness? Can there be Consciousness without Being? This is something that can be verified
in meditation. Look for yourself. Bliss is seen also to be of this
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WHO AM I?
same unitary nature, so much so that when all the noise of the
mind and ego are stilled, bliss is the experience of all. When your
mind is quiet, you may feel a deep sense of peace, or bliss. Where
does this bliss come from?
By just noticing your existence, you may experience this Bliss of
Being. This Bliss is very sweet. Nothing is needed. Just notice
what is there.
Paragraph 31
It is pleasant under the shade of a tree, and scorching in the heat
of the sun outside. A person toiling in the sun seeks the cool shade
of the tree and is happy under it. After staying there for a while,
he moves out again but, unable to bear the merciless heat of the
sun, he again seeks the shade. In this way he keeps on moving
from shade to sun and sun to shade.
Comments
Ramana uses the metaphor of standing in the shade vs. standing
in the sun as a way to talk about standing as the body/mind/ego
vs. standing as the Self, the source of all happiness.
This movement from sun to shade is like the person seeking happiness that is seen to be external to the seeker. Finding the happiness is like moving to the shade. The shade is enjoyed when a
desire is met. But soon there arises yet another desire, the seeker
again moves into the hot sun. Is this going to bring any permanent relief from the heat?
Practice Notes
What is the source of happiness within you?
In spiritual practice you learn that there is a choice. you learn to
make choices that enhance your spiritual practice, like assocciating
39
WHO AM I?
more with spiritual friends and less with casual ones. This is an
important step. You should note that making these choices often
involves choosing something other than what ego desires, so this is
already a step beyond ego.
Paragraph 32
It is an unwise person who acts thus, whereas the wise man never
leaves the shade: in the same way the mind of the Enlightened
Sage (Jnani) never exists apart from Brahman, the Absolute. The
mind of the ignorant, on the other hand, entering into the phenomenal world, suffers pain and anguish; and then, turning for a
short while towards Brahman, it experiences happiness. Such is
the mind of the ignorant.
Comments
The wise person, Ramana says, never leaves the shade. The Sage
never leaves the Bliss of the Self. The mind of the ignorant is attached to the world and the body and all that these imply. These
attachments bring pain, suffering, fear, etc., except for those few
moments in which a desire is met, the mind quiets, and the Bliss
of Being is experienced as worldly happiness. The most that the
ignorant can hope for is periods of inner peace mixed with
periods of anguish. We love these moments of peace.
Sages talk about the continuous Bliss of Being. As long as one
holds to the mind, nothing will be continuous. There is a deep
message in the idea of the continuous Bliss of Being. That message is to move past the ups and downs of the mind (and body,
senses, and ego) into what is changeless.
Practice Notes
What is your experience right now? Is it bliss? Remember a
40
WHO AM I?
WHO AM I?
Practice Notes
One example that Ramana would give uses the deep sleep state.
There the mind is not active and there is no world. A meditative
approach is to look at your dreams. There is a world in the
dream. Where does this dream world come from? What about
your dream body? Or dream sense experiences? What happened
to the reality of the dream when you wake up?
Paragraph 34
Not from any desire, resolve, or effort on the part of the rising sun,
but merely due to the presence of his rays, the lens emits heat, the
lotus blossoms, water evaporates, and people attend to their various duties in life. In the proximity of the magnet the needle
moves. Similarly the soul or jiva, subjected to the threefold activity
of creation, preservation, and destruction which take place merely
due to the unique Presence of the Lord, performs acts in accordance with its karma (fruits of past actions, in the present life),
and subsides to rest after such activity. But the Lord Himself has
no resolve; no act or event touches even the fringe of His Being.
This state of immaculate aloofness can be likened to that of the
sun, which is untouched by the activities of life, or to that of the
all-pervasive ether, which is not affected by the interaction of the
complex qualities of the other four elements.
Comments
The jiva, the individual personality, Ramana says, appears to exist
only through the Self (really it appears to exist only through the
projected superimpositions of the reality of the Self onto some
imagined reality), and acts based on the laws of cause and effect.
The Self, Who We Are, however, is not touched by any so-called
event.
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WHO AM I?
WHO AM I?
WHO AM I?
Practice Notes
Ask this of yourself:
Can you be the body? Does the body say I You know
the body so cannot be the body.
Can you be the senses? You know the senses so cannot be
the senses?
Can you be the flow of breath (prana)? You know the
flow of breath, so cannot be the flow of this life energy.
Can be you be a thought? You know thought so cannot
be thought.
Can you be the quiet mind? You know the quiet mind so
cannot be even this quiet mind.
Who knows all that is known? Who are you?
Paragraph 37
To enquire Who am I that is in bondage? and to know ones
real nature is alone Liberation. To keep the mind constantly
turned within, and to abide thus in the Self is alone Atmavichara (Self enquiry), whereas dhyana (meditation) consists in
fervent contemplation of the Self as Sat-Chit-Ananda (BeingConsciousness-Bliss). Indeed, at some time, one will have to forget
everything that has been learnt.
Comments
Liberation consists of knowledge. Ramana says, to know ones
real nature is alone Liberation. This is the entire purpose of spiritual practice. Keeping the mind turned within, on the first (person, the I) is what inquiry is about. The heart of the inquiry,
Who am I? is the I, itself. What is this I? Where does it
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WHO AM I?
WHO AM I?
WHO AM I?
WHO AM I?
not two selves within us, not good or not good. There are not
two selves, an inner self, and a God self, one to see and another to be seen; there is just the Self, nondual reality. There is no
individual or others; all is just One.
To hate another person is like one hand being upset at the other
hand. What is given to another is given to the Self. It is from this
understanding that we should relate to others.
The Third Patriarch of Chan, Seng-Tsan, wrote in his classic,
Faith Mind:
The Great Way is not difficult
for those who have no preferences
When love and hate are both absent
everything becomes clear and undisguised
Make the smallest distinction however
and heaven and earth are set infinitely apart
If you wish to see the truth
then hold no opinions for or against anything
To set-up what you like against what
you dislike is the disease of the mind
When the deep meaning of things is not understood
the minds essential peace is disturbed to no avail
The Way is perfect like vast space
where nothing is lacking and nothing is in excess
Indeed, it is due to our choosing to accept or reject
that we do not see the true nature of things
WHO AM I?
WHO AM I?
Summary
To make a summary of this teaching just invites you to try to
engage it with your mind and to understand it cognatively. This is
not the way to go about taking this teaching into yourself.
This is for you to disccover within yourself. So, inquire, Who am
I? Know your Self.
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WHO AM I?
52
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