Thus Spake Ramana

Sri Ramana Maharshi

Men speak of divine visions, yet paint them differently with the seer himself in the scene. Even hypnotists can make one see strange scenes and phenomena, which you condemn as trucks and jugglery, whereas the former you extol as Divine. Why is this difference? The fact is that all sights are unreal, whether they come from the senses or the mind as pure concepts. This is the truth.

Subjective knowledge - knowledge knowing itself is jnana. It is then the subject as the knower, the object as the known and the knowledge which connects them. Knowledge is the light which links the seer to the seen. Suppose you go to search for a book in a library in pitch darkness. Can you find it without light, although you, the subject, and the book, the object, are both present? Light has to be present to unite you. This link between the subject and the object in every experience is chit, consciousness. It is the substratum as well as the witness of all experiences.

What is meditation but mental repetitions of a concept? It is mental japam, which begins with words and ends in the Silence of the Self. Meditation and control of mind are interdependent. In fact meditation includes mind control, the subtle watchfulness against intruding thoughts. In the beginning, efforts for control are greater than for actual meditation, but in due course meditation wins and becomes effortless.

From Thus Spake Ramana