The Nature Of The Mind
Q: What Is The Nature Of The Mind?
A: The mind is nothing other than the ‘I’-thought. The mind and the ego are one and the same. The other mental faculties such as the intellect and the memory are only this. Mind, intellect, the storehouse of mental tendencies, and ego; all these are only the one mind itself. This is like different names being given to a man according to his different functions. The individual soul is nothing but this soul or ego.
Source: Be As you Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi, Edited by David Goodman
23rd January, 1937
338. Mrs. Jennings, an American lady, asked a few questions:
D: Is not affirmation of God more effective thatn the quest “Who am I?” Affirmation is positive, whereas the other is negation. Moreoever, it indicates separateness.
M: So long as you seek to know how to realise, this advice is given to find your Self. Your seeking the method denotes your separateness.
D: Is it not better to say ‘I am the Supreme Being’ than ask ‘Who am I?’
M: Who affirms? There must be one to do it. Find that one.
D: Is not meditation better than investigation?
M: Meditation implies mental imagery, whereas investigation is for the Reality. The former is objective, whereas the latter is subjective.
…
Later Sri Bhagavan said the whole Vedanta is contained in the two biblical statements:
“I am that I AM” and “Be still and know that I am God.”
…
347. The mind is a bundle of thoughts. The thoughts arise because there is the thinker. The thinker is the ego. The ego, if sought, will automatically vanish. The ego and the mind are the same. The ego is the root-thought from which all other thoughts arise.
Source: Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
18-10-46
This afternoon a visitor from Shimoga asked Bhagavan, “How to still the tossing mind?” Bhagavan replied, “Who asks this question? Is it the mind or you?” The visitor said, “The mind.”
Bhagavan: If you see what this mind is, it will be stilled.
Visitor: How to see what the mind is?
Bhagavan: What is your idea of the mind?
Visitor: My idea is, it is thought.
Bhagavan: The mind is a bundle of thoughts. But the source of all thoughts is the I-thought. So if you try to find out who this ‘I’ is, the mind will disappear. The mind will exist only so long as you think of external things. But when you draw it from external things and make it think of the mind or ‘I’ - in other words introvert it - it ceases to exist.
Source: Day by Day with Bhagavan
Disciple: How can the mind be made to vanish?
Maharshi: No attempt is made to destroy it. To think or wish it is itself a thought. If the thinker is sought, the thoughts will disappear.
D: Will they disappear of themselves? It looks so difficult.
M: They will disappear because they are unreal. The idea of difficulty is itself an obstacle to realisation. It must be overcome. To remain as the Self is not difficult.
Source: Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
