Wednesday, February 9, 2011

From "The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi"

"There is no ignorance apart from the mind. It is the cause of the bondage of birth and death. With the emergence of the mind, everything arises and with it's subsidence, everything ceases."

"It is only the mind that conjures up before the Self subtle and gross objects and all the variations of body, caste, and station in life, qualities and actions, causes and effects. So doing, it tempts and deludes the Self, which is really unattached pure intelligence, binding it by the qualities of body, senses, and life and deluding it with the idea of "I" and "mine" in the fruits of action that it creates. By means of this false representation, the mind creates the myth of samsara (bondage) for the spirit."

If I may, I would also like to add that there is no mind, only Self, of which thought is one of the "surface ripples". Mind (thought) is not apart from Brahman, only an expression of it as form. There never was a separate self (ego) who was deluded or in bondage, belief in arising thoughts as absolute reality only made it appear so.

Another quote:

"The phenomenal world... is nothing but thought. When the world recedes from view - that is when one is free from thought - the mind enjoys the Bliss of the Self. Conversely, when the world appears - that is when thought occurs - the mind experiences pain and anguish."

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