Who am I?
I am not this physical body (Sthula Sareera) made up of the seven components (Dhatus); nor the subtle body composed of the five sense-organs (the eye, the ear, the nose, the skin and the tongue) with their functions (sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste), nor the five vital forces (Pranas) controlling respiration, digestion, blood circulation, perspiration and excretion, nor the five organs of external activity (mouth, hands, feet, anus and generative organ),
nor the mind, nor any of these separately. Neither am I identical with Anandamaya kola, the deep sleep state, the state of unconsciousness, wherein the activities of all the above cease to manifest, while their potentialities, though present, lie dormant. Hence ‘I’ should only be identified with that which remains after eliminating all the above, i.e., pure consciousness. It is by nature Sat-Chit-Ananda (Existence—Knowledge—Bliss).
—Sri Ramana Maharshi
There are no two such things as a good mind and an evil mind; it is one and the same mind. Vasanas (tendencies) cause desires and attractions which may be at times good and at other times bad. The mind when influenced by good vasanas is, for the time-being, considered good and when under the influence of evil vasanas, bad. However bad some may seem to us at times, they ought not to be disliked, nor should we conceive prejudice in favour of those that seem for the time-being friendly and beneficent to us. Shun both likes and dislikes.
Do not allow the mind to be drawn astray into the affairs of the world. Do not meddle with others. Whatever treatment you accord to others, the same is reflected and comes to you at some (perhaps unknown) time. If this truth is appreciated, who can refrain from being universally good?
The ‘I’ (ego) arising, everything else arises; and the ‘I’ (ego) vanishing, everything vanishes. The meeker one is, the better. Oh, if the mind is under control, what matters where you stay and what you meet with?
[Courtesy: Sri Ramana Ashram]
Bhavan's Journal,May 15, 2022∎ 8
