On 17th February 1937, Mrs. Jinarasadasa asked Bhagavan Ramana:
Mrs. J: But how did the ego arise?
Bhagavan: Ego is non-existent, otherwise you would be two instead of one - you the ego and you the Self.
You are a single, indivisible, whole. Inquire into yourself and the apparent ego and ignorance will disappear.
Mrs. J: Why then do we need to concentrate?
Bhagavan: Concentration, meditation and all spiritual practices are not performed with the object of realizing
the Self, because the Self is ever-present, but of realizing the non-existence of ignorance. Every man admits
his own existence and does not need a mirror to prove it to him. Existence is Awareness, which is the negation
of ignorance. Then why does a man suffer? Because he imagines himself to be other than what he is in reality is,
e.g., the body, this, that and the other -- "I am Gopal, son of Parashuram, father of Natesan," etc., In reality he
is the intelligent "I-am" alone, stripped of qualities and super-impositions, of names and forms. Does he see his body
and all these qualities, shapes and colours in dreamless deep sleep? Yet he does not deny that he is then himself
existing even wtihout a body. He must hold on to that existence, that lone being - Kaivalya - even when he is
in the waking state. The man of wisdom simply is. "I-am-That-I-am" sums up the whole Truth. The method is
summed up by "Be still and know that I am God." What does stillness mean? Cessation of thinking, which is the
universe of forms, colors, qualities, time, space, all concepts and precepts whatever.
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A visitor asked:
"If the ego or "I" be an illusion who then casts off the illusion?
Bhagavan: The "I" casts off the illusion of "I" and yet remains as "I". This appears to be a paradox to you. It is
not so to the Jnani. Take the case of the bhakta (devotee). His "I" prays to the Lord to unite it with Him, which is
its surrender. What remains as residuum after the surrender, is the eternal "I", which is God the Absolute,
Paramatman Himself. What has happened to the "I" which originally prayed? Being unreal it simply vanished!
(Source: Guru Ramana, S.S. Cohen.)
Arunachala Siva.