Atma Vichara Patikam (Eleven Verses on Self-Enquiry) a Tamil work of Ramana Maharshi Disciple Sri Sadhu Om

1. Thinking is a mentation (vritti) ; being is not a mentation ! If enquired ‘Who thinks ?’, thinking will come to an end ! Even when thoughts do not exist, do not you exist? To remain thus in the source of thoughts is the state of Self- abidance (nishtha) ! Be thus!

2 He who thinks is the individual soul (jiva); he who is,is the Supreme (brahman) ! If the thinker thinks with great love of That which is still, this thought, the love
to be, will become the thought free thought which kills all thinking. When the thinker thus dies with all his thoughts, to remain surviving him is union with the
Supreme (siva-sayujyam) !

3. He who thinks ‘I (am so-and-so)’ is himself one among the thoughts. Of all thoughts, the thought ‘I (am so-andso)’ is the very first. The jiva who thinks ‘I (am so-and- -so)’ is only our reflection. For, we never think ‘I (am this or that)’ when we shine as That (the Supreme).

4. This thought, ‘I (am the body)’, does not exist in deep sleep. This thought, ‘I (am the body)’, does not exist in the true state of jnana either. Since it rises and slips away in between (two such states), this ‘I’ is unreal;hence, this ‘I’ is only a thought.

5. The waxing of this thought ‘I’ is indeed the waxing of misery! This thought ‘I’ alone is what is called the ego.It is only because of non-enquiry that this ‘I’ has come into existence and is flourishing ! If, instead of being favoured, it is enquired into, ‘What is this !?’, it will disappear, losing its existence.

6. The second and third persons (the objects) live only because of the root, the first person (the subject or ego).If the fickle mind turns towards the first person, the first person will become non-existent and That which really exists will then shine forth. This indestructible, real Self is Jnana.

7. To think of second and third persons is sheer foolishness, for by thinking of second and third persons the mental activities (mano-vritlis) will wax. (On the other hand,) attending to the first person is equal to committing suicide, for only by enquiring into the first person will the ego itself die.

8. Attending to second and third persons instead of turning towards and attending to the first person is an attention based only upon ignorance (ajnana). If you ask, “Then is not the attention to the ego also an attention based upon ignorance? So why should we attend to this ‘I?’, then listen.

9. The reason why this ‘I’ dies when enquired into, ‘What am I? is as follows: This thought ‘I’ is a reflected ray of Jnana (Self), (and it alone is directly connected with Self, whereas the other thoughts are not); (so) when the attention goes deeper and deeper within along the ray ‘I’, its length decreases more and more, and when the
ray I’ dies that which shines as ‘I’ is Jnana.

10. Do not perform any action thinking ‘It should be done by me’. Nothing is done by you, (for) you are simply nothing ! By knowing this first, if you avoid the rising of doership, then everything will be done well by Him and your peace will remain undisturbed !

11. When scrutinizing ‘What is real?’, nothing in the world is (found to be) real; Self alone is real (satyam).Therefore, let us renounce everything and ever remain
unshakably as the reality (sat). This alone is the service enjoined upon us by Sri Ramana, our eternal Lord!

Source: The Path of Sri Ramana PART ONE The Jñana aspect of the teaching By Sri Sadhu Om