The Thief: The Mind

Sri Ramana Maharshi

• Who is it that says "I" is not perceptible? Is there an ignorant "I" and an elusive "I"? Are there two "I"s in the same person? It is the mind that says "I" is not perceptible. Where is that mind from? Know the mind. You will find the myth.
• You dream in your sleep, while lying in bed in Tiruvannamalai; and you find yourself in another town. The same is real to you. Your body is here and you are on your bed in a room. Can a town enter your room or could you have left the place and gone elsewhere leaving the body here? Both are impossible. Therefore your being here and seeing another town are both unreal. They appear real to the mind. The "I" of the dream has vanished. Another "I" speaks of the dream. This "I" was not in the dream. Both the "I"s are unreal. There is the substratum of the mind which continues all along, giving rise to so many scenes. With every thought rises the "I" and with its disappearance that "I" disappears too. So the "I"s are born, and die every moment. The subsisting mind is the real trouble. That is the thief according to Janaka.

From "Thus Spake Ramana"