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

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
Again we often hear, “Dog seen, stone is not seen; stone seen, dog is
not seen.” It is ordinarily understood to mean that one cannot find a
brickbat to throw at a stray dog. But this popular saying has a much
deeper significance. It is based on a story:
A certain wealthy man’s house was closely guarded. It had also a
ferocious dog chained to a pillar at the gate. The dog and the chain
were however very skilful pieces of art. They were sculptured in stone
but appeared life-like. A pedestrian on the road once took fright at the
sight of the ferocious animal and hurt himself in his attempt to dodge
it. A kindly neighbour took pity on him and showed him that it was not
a living dog. When the man passed by it the next time he admired the
skill of the sculptor and forgot his old experience. Thus when he found
it to be a dog, he could not see the stone of which it was made; and
again when he found it a piece of sculpture he did not see any dog to
hurt him. Hence the proverb. Compare it with ‘The elephant hides the
wood and the wood hides the elephant.’ Here it is a wooden elephant.
Atma is always Sat-Chit-Ananda. Of these, the first two are
experienced in all the states, whereas the last one is said to be
experienced in sleep only.
The question arises how the true nature of the Self can be lost in
the waking and dream states. It is, really speaking, not lost. In sleep
there is no mind and the Self shines as Itself, whereas in the other
two states what shines forth is the reflected light of the Self. Ananda
is felt after the cessation of thoughts in sleep. It is also manifest on
other occasions as love, joy, etc., priya, moda and pramoda. But they
are all chitta vrittis (modes of mind).
When a man is walking in the street his mind is full of fleeting
thoughts. Suppose he passes a bazaar where some fine mangoes are
for sale. He likes the mangoes and purchases them. He is next anxious
to taste them. So he hastens home and eats them and feels happy.
When the fleeting thoughts give way to the pleasure at the sight of
mangoes, it is priya, when he gets them as his own, the pleasure is
moda; lastly, when he eats them, the pleasure is pramoda.
All the three kinds of pleasure are owing to the disappearance of
other thoughts.
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