Journey to Self

Very often on Facebook someone quotes Ramana Maharshi and what strikes me always is how many 'likes' there always are for his quotes and how few comments. All of the 'likes' indicate to me that there is an intuitive understanding of the truth of what the Maharshi is saying for many many people. I also assert that there are many people searching for the experience of self-realization which Ramana achieved.

In this simple sentence Ramana is making two distinctions. One is the the mind and the other is YOU. Mind is one thing. YOU are another. Where does this separation come from and if it is so obvious why doesn't everyone see it? Let's deal with the mind first. Ramana says 'it is the nature of the mind to wander'. Just think about how many thoughts you have in every minute and how the mind goes first to one and then the other, it doesn't stay still for a moment. You hear a sound and immediately the mind goes to it and some judgement is made about what is heard. The same goes for the other senses. The mind is constantly busy with what comes into it from the senses. The mind is externally orientated. Without the external stimulation the mind is quiet. The constant wandering and restlessness of the mind does not allow the experience of stillness or silence.

Ramana says 'it is the nature'. So it is natural for the mind to do this. If it is natural then all efforts made to stop this wandering are going to be at best futile and at worst exhausting. The mind will do what it is designed to do which is to wander. It is useless to make it wrong or judge or condemn it for doing what is only coming naturally to it. As human beings we have minds and the products of mind are thoughts. In the same way that we have seeing and hearing and the products of these are sights and sounds.

Then Ramana says 'YOU are not your mind'. What does he mean? Anything you can see as separate you cannot be that. You can have a thought (which comes from mind) eg I want a cup of tea and in most cases the power of the thought will send the person off without thinking to make a cup of tea. But if you can stop, recognise the thought that says 'I want a cup of tea' as a thought. Then instead of making tea become very intersted in the 'YOU' who has seen that thought as separate, then something else becomes possible. Slowly and with practice the watcher of the thoughts becomes more important than the mind that is producing the thoughts.

So what Ramana is saying is 'don't give attention to the the mind'. Just watch the thoughts like a disinterested observer, like you would watch clouds going across the sky. In the beginning because the mind has been in such control for so long it won't be possible to see very much blue sky. But if you take this practice on and be vigilant with yourself whilst also not taking it too seriously then the sky which holds the clouds will peek through. Ramana is saying don't give your loyalty to the wrong master.

'It is the nature of the mind to wander.....YOU are not your mind'