Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi Complete ... - BrahminVoice.org

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Moreover, it is illustrated thus: A king comes into the hall, sits there
and then leaves the place.
He did not go into the kitchen. Can one in the kitchen for that reason
say, “The king did not come here”? When awareness is found in
jagrat it must also be in sleep.
Talk 482.
29th April, 1938
Dr. Pande of Indore is on a visit here. He asked leave of Bhagavan to
ask questions so that his doubts might be cleared. He wanted to be
shown a practical way to realise the Self.
M.: A man was blindfolded and left in the woods. He then enquired
of the way to Gandhara from each one he met on the way until
he finally reached it. So also all the ways lead to Self-Realisation.
They are aids to the common goal.
D.: Dhyana will be easy if there is a pratikam (symbol). But the
enquiry into the Self does not show any pratikam.
M.: You admit the existence of the Self. Do you point to the pratikam
(symbol) and say that it is the Self? Maybe you think the body is the
Self. But consider your deep sleep. You do exist then. What is the
pratikam there? So the Self can be realised without pratikam.
D.: Quite true. I see the force of the words. But yet are not mantras,
etc., helpful?
M.: They are helpful. What is mantra? You are thinking of the simple
sounds of the mantra. Repetition of the same excludes all other
thoughts. The single thought of the mantra japa remains. That too
drops away giving place to the Infinite Self, which is the mantra
itself.
Mantra, dhyana, bhakti, etc., are all aids and finally lead to
Swarupa, the Self, which is they themselves.
After a few minutes Maharshi continued:
Everyone is the Self, indeed infinite. Yet each one mistakes the
body for the Self. To know anything, illumination is necessary.
Such illuminating agency can only be in the form of light which is
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