Sri Ramana Maharshi
11-1-1946 Afternoon
Mr. O. P. Ramaswami Reddiar asked B, "But why should these three states come and go on the real state or the screen of the Self?"
B: Who puts this question? Does the Self say these states come and go? It is the seer who says these states come and go. The seer and the seen together constitute the mind. See if there is such a thing as the mind. Then the mind merges in the Self, and there is neither the seer nor the seen. So the real answer to your question is, "Do they come and go? They neither come nor go." The Self alone remains as it ever is. The three states owe their existence to non-enquiry and enquiry puts an end to them. However much one may explain, the fact will not become clear until one attains Self-realization and wonders how he was blind to the self-evident and only existence so long.
Another visitor asked, "What is the difference between the mind and the Self?"
B: There is no difference. The mind turned inwards is the Self; turned outwards it becomes the ego and all the world. The cotton made into various clothes, we call by various names. The gold made into various ornaments, we call by various names. But all the clothes are cotton and all the ornaments gold. The one is real, the many are mere names and forms.But the mind does not exist apart from the Self. It has no independent existence. The Self exists without the mind, never the mind without the Self.
B: Who puts this question? Does the Self say these states come and go? It is the seer who says these states come and go. The seer and the seen together constitute the mind. See if there is such a thing as the mind. Then the mind merges in the Self, and there is neither the seer nor the seen. So the real answer to your question is, "Do they come and go? They neither come nor go." The Self alone remains as it ever is. The three states owe their existence to non-enquiry and enquiry puts an end to them. However much one may explain, the fact will not become clear until one attains Self-realization and wonders how he was blind to the self-evident and only existence so long.
Another visitor asked, "What is the difference between the mind and the Self?"
B: There is no difference. The mind turned inwards is the Self; turned outwards it becomes the ego and all the world. The cotton made into various clothes, we call by various names. The gold made into various ornaments, we call by various names. But all the clothes are cotton and all the ornaments gold. The one is real, the many are mere names and forms.But the mind does not exist apart from the Self. It has no independent existence. The Self exists without the mind, never the mind without the Self.
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