WHO AM I? INQUIRY:
continues....
Who am I? is not a mantra. It means that you must find out where in you, the 'I'-thought arises, which is the source of all
other thoughts. But if you find that Vichara marga (path of inquiry) is too hard for you, you go on repeating 'I'-'I' and that
will lead you to the same goal. There is no harm in using 'I' as a mantra. It is the first name of the God.
I ask you to see where the 'I' arises in your body. But it is not really quite correct to say, that the 'I' rises from and merges
in the Heart n the right side of the chest. The Heart is another name for the Reality, and it is neither inside nor outside the
body. There can be no in and out for it, since It alone is. I do not mean by Heart any physiological organ, any plexus of
nerves, or anything like that, but so long as one identifies oneself with the body and thinks he is the body, he is advised to see
in the body where the 'I-thought' rises and merges again. It must be the Heart at the right side of the chest, since every man,
of whatever race, and religion, and in whatever language he may be saying 'I' points to the right side of his chest to indicate
himself. This is true all over the world. So that must be the place, And by keenly watching the constant emergence of the
'I'-thought on waking and its subsiding in sleep, one can see that it is in the Heart on the right side.
First know who you are. This requires no sastras or scholarship. This is simple experience. The state of being is now and here
all along. You have lost hold of yourself and are asking others for guidance. The purpose of philosophy is to turn the mind
inward. 'If you know yourself, no evil can come to you. Because you asked me I have told you this.; (See Kaivalya Navaneetham).
The ego comes up only by holding you (the Self). Hold yourself and the ego will vanish. Until then the sage will be happy
saying, 'There is', and the ignorant will be asking 'where?'
Regulation of life, such as getting up at a fixed hour, bathing, dong mantra japa, etc., all this is for people who do not feel
drawn to Self Inquiry, or not capable of it. But for those who can practice this method, all rules, and disciplines are
unnecessary.
Undoubtedly, it is said in some books, that one should go on cultivating one good quality after another and thus prepare
for Moksha. But for those who follow the Jnana or Vichara marga, their sadhana is itself quite enough for acquiring all daivic
qualities. They need not do anything else.
What is Gayatri? It really means 'Let me concentrate on That which illumines all.'
concluded.
Gems from Bhagavan
Devaraja Mudaliar.
continued..
Arunachala Siva.