The Tenth Man

Sri Ramana Maharshi

The sastras become useless when their essence is realized. The scriptures are useful to indicate the existence of the Higher Power (the Self) and the way to gain it. That is all. When the essence is assimilated, the rest is useless. As one rises in the scale, he finds the positions he has transcended to be steps to the higher stage and so on. When the goal is reached, it alone remains and all the rest becomes useless to him. That is the stage when the sastras become useless.

Ten ignorant forded a stream and on reaching the other shore counted themselves and founded only nine. They grew anxious and grieved at the loss of the tenth unknown man. A wayfarer, ascertaining the cause of their grief, found that each had left himself out in the count, so gave each a blow and asked them to count. They counted ten and were satisfied. The tenth man was not got anew. He was all along there and only ignorance had caused their grief. Similarly also with a man and the Self. There is nothing to be gained anew. The Self is ever here and now. Because the limitations have been wrongly assumed, there is the need to transcend them. Moreover, if it were anything to be gained anew, it would imply its previous absence. What was absent once, may vanish again also, in which case there would be no permanence in salvation.
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From "Thus Spake Ramana"