Let Go Of Unreal, Reality Shines

Sri Ramana Maharshi

22-3-1946 Afternoon

Last night, Mr. Bose, his mother, Lady C. V. Raman and Swami Sambuddhananda of the Ramakrishna Mission, Bombay, arrived here. The Swami quoted a verse from Bhagavad Gita which says that one in a thousand succeeds and knows really the tattva or entity. For some time Bhagavan kept quiet. When the Swami wanted an answer, some of us could not help remarking, “What is your question? What answer do you expect?” Dr. Masalawala even pointedly asked, “What is the motive behind this question?” Thereupon, the Swami said, “I think our Bhagavan has attained  Self-realisation. Such beings are walking Upanishads. So I want to hear, from his own lips, his experience of Self-realisation. Why are you all butting in and distracting us from the point and purpose of my question?”

After all this, Bhagavan said, “You say you think I have attained Self-realisation. I must know what you mean by Selfrealisation. What idea do you have in your mind about it?” 

The Swami was not pleased with this counter-question, but added, after some time, “I mean the atman merging in the paramatman.” 

Bhagavan then said, “We do not know about the paramatman or the Universal Soul, etc. We know we exist. Nobody doubts he exists, though he may doubt the existence of God. So, if one finds out about the truth or source of oneself, that is all that is required.” 

The Swami thereupon said, “Bhagavan therefore says ‘Know Thyself’.” 

Bhagavan said. “Even that is not correct. For, if we talk of knowing the Self, there must be two Selves, one a knowing Self, another the Self which is known, and the process of knowing. The state we call realisation is simply being oneself, not knowing anything or becoming anything. If one has realised, he is that which alone is and which alone has always been. He cannot describe that state. He can only be that. Of course, we loosely talk of Selfrealisation, for want of a better term. How to ‘real-ise’ or make real that which alone is real? What we are all doing is, we ‘realised’ or regard as real that which is unreal. This habit of ours has to be given up. All sadhana under all systems of thought is meant only for this end. When we give up regarding the unreal as real, then the reality alone will remain and we will be that.”