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

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Again since the ajnani, though he is not the doer, yet imagines himself
to be the doer and considers the actions of the body his own, he thinks
the Jnani to be similarly acting when the body is active. But the
Jnani himself knows the Truth and is not confounded. The state of a
Jnani cannot be determined by the ajnani and therefore the question
troubles only the ajnani and never does it arise for the Jnani. If he is
a doer he must determine the nature of the actions. The Self cannot
be the doer. Find out who is the doer and the Self is revealed.
D.: There could be no advaita in actions. That is how the questions
arose.
M.: But the stanza says there should be. This ‘do’ is applicable only
to the practiser and not the accomplished ones.
D.: Yes. I quite see it. Moreover, advaita cannot be practised in one’s
dealings with the Guru. For, consistently with it, he cannot receive
instructions.
M.: Yes, the Guru is within and not without. A Tamil saint has said,
“O Guru! always abiding within me, but manifesting now in human
form only to guide and protect me!” What is within as the Self
manifests in due course as Guru in human shape.
D.: So it amounts to this. To see a Jnani is not to understand him.
You see the jnani’s body and not his jnanam. One must therefore
be a Jnani to know a Jnani.
M.: The Jnani sees no one as an ajnani. All are only jnanis in his sight.
In the ignorant state one superimposes his ignorance on a Jnani
and mistakes him for a doer. In the state of jnana, the Jnani sees
nothing separate from the Self. The Self is all shining and only pure
jnana. So there is no ajnana in his sight. There is an illustration
for this kind of allusion or super-imposition. Two friends went to
sleep side by side. One of them dreamt that both of them had gone
on a long journey and had strange experiences. On waking up he
recapitulated them and asked his friend if it was not so. The other
one simply ridiculed him saying that it was only his dream and
could not affect the other.
So it is with the ajnani who superimposes his illusive ideas on
others.
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