Part 3 - Thus Spake Ramana

The questioner asked again: "But first of all we must find a Guru who can give us sufficient practice and thereby enable us to get rid of these gunas, mustn't we?"

"If we have the earnestness to get rid of these qualities can we not find a Guru? We must first have the desire to get rid of them. When once we have this the Guru will himself come, searching for us; or, he will somehow manage to draw us to himself. The Guru will always be on the alert and keep an eye on us; Iswara himself will show us the Guru. Who else will look after the welfare of the children except the father himself? He is always with us, surrounding us. He protects us, as a bird protects its eggs by hatching them under the shelter of its wings. But we must have whole-hearted faith in Him," said Bhagavan

All bad qualities center around the ego.
When the ego is gone,
Realization results by itself.
There are neither good nor bad
qualities in the Self.
The Self is free from all qualities.
Qualities pertain to the mind only.
The Self is beyond quality.
If there is unity,
there will also be duality.
The numeral one gives rise to other numbers.
The truth is neither one nor two.
It is as it is.

Realization is already there.
The state free from thoughts
is the only real state.
There is no such action as Realization.
Is there anyone
who is not realizing the Self?
Does anyone deny his own existence?
Speaking of Realization,
it implies two selves.
The one to realize--
the other to be realized.
What is not already realized
is sought to be realized.
Once we admit our existence,
how is it that we do not know our Self?

If we look on the Self as the ego
then we become the ego.
if as the mind we become the mind,
if as the body we become the body.
It is the thought which builds up sheaths
in so many ways.
The shadow on the water
is found to be shaking.
Can anyone stop this shaking?
If it would cease to shake
you would not know the water
but only the light.
Similarly, take no notice of the ego
and its activities
but see only the light behind it.
The ego is the "I" thought.
The true "I" is the Self.

Devotee: From where do these objects arise?

Bhagavan: Just from where you rise. Know the subject first and then question about the object.

Devotee: It is only one aspect of the question.

Bhagavan: The subject comprehends the object also. That one aspect is an all-comprehensive aspect. See yourself first and then see the objects. What is not in you cannot appear outside.

Devotee: I am not satisfied.

Bhagavan: Satisfaction can be only when you reach the source. Otherwise restlessness exists.

Source; Talk 199 (19th May 1936)

M.: Make effort. Just as water is got by boring a well, so also you realise
the Self by investigation.

D.: Yes. But some find water readily and others with difficulty.

M.: But you already see the moisture on the surface. You are hazily aware of
the Self. Pursue it. When the effort ceases the Self shines forth.

D.: How to train the mind to look within?

M.: By practice. The mind is the intelligent phase leading to its own
destruction, for Self to manifest.

Even the ignorant man
sees only the Self
when he sees objects.
But he is confused
and identifies the Self with the object;
the body and the senses,
and plays in the world.
Subject and object --
all merge in the Self.
There is no seer or objects seen.
The seer and the seen are the Self.
There are not many selves, either,
All are only one Self.

Look at your Self or Atma, rather than anywhere else. The eyes may be kept open or closed - it is immaterial. There is only one I, whether you spell it 'I' or 'eye'. There is no point in opening or closing the eyes.Attention must be focussed on the inner 'I'.

You are not an eye that can be opened or closed. You may close or open the eyes according to your liking or inclination. It is immaterial and not important. You will cease to think of the world when you think of the Self. If you are in a room and close your eyes and do not look out, it is immaterial whether you close the windows of keep them open. (The body is the room, the eyes are the window.) Looking at ajna chakra, etc., is not necessary in this method. It may help in keeping the mind from going out towards external objects.Concentrate on the Self without which there are no chakras. They do not exist without you. You are all of them. All centres (chakras) are in the Heart.

The Heart is not the anahata chakra, which is in the spinal cord.
Heart is 'I'.