Thirst and ... mirage

The appearance of water in a mirage persists after the fact that it is a mirage has dawned on us.
So it is with the world.

Though knowing it to be unreal, it continues to manifest -
but we do not try to satisfy our thirst with the water of the mirage.
As soon as one knows that it is a mirage,
one gives it up as useless and does not run after it to get water.

~ Ramana Maharshi

with thanks to Love is a Place

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the world is real

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The world is real for the ignorant

as well as for the wise;

for the ignorant the real

is measured by the world,

for one who knows

the real has no limits and

is the foundation of the world.

Both say ‘I’ referring to themselves,

the ignorant and the one who knows.

For the ignorant the self is defined by the body,

the wise knows that within the body the

unlimited Self shines with its own splendour.

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~ Ramana Maharshi

(1879 – 1950)

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investigate what the mind is and it will disappear

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Investigate what the mind is and it will disappear, 

There is no such thing as 'mind' apart from 'thought.' 

There is no use removing doubts. 

If we clear one doubt another arises, 

and there will be no end of doubts. 

All doubts will cease only when the doubter and his source have been found. 

Seek for the source of the doubter, 

and you will find that he is really non-existent. 

Doubter ceasing, doubts will cease.

~ Ramana Maharshi

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enough

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It is enough that one surrenders oneself. 

Surrender is to give oneself up to the original cause of one's being. 

Do not delude yourself by imagining such a source to be some God outside you. 

One's source is within oneself. 

Give yourself up to it. 

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~ Ramana Maharshi


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Grace is not something to be acquired from others. 

If it is external, it is useless. 

All that is necessary is to know its existence in you.

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~ Ramana Maharshi

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That which you seek and cannot find - is the Seeker

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That which you seek and cannot find - is the Seeker.

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"By the inquiry 'Who am I?'.

The thought 'who am I?' will destroy all other thoughts,

and like the stick used for stirring the burning pyre,

it will itself in the end get destroyed.

Then, there will arise Self-realization."

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The thinker is the ego, 

which if sought will automatically vanish.

Reality is simply loss of the ego.

Destroy the ego by seeking its identity.

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Because the ego has no real existence, 

it will automatically vanish, 

and Reality will shine forth by itself in all its glory.

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This is the direct method.

All other methods retain the ego, 

In those paths so many doubts arise, 

and the eternal question remains to be tackled. 

But in this method the final question is 

the only one and is raised from the very beginning.

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No practices are even necessary for this quest.

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~ Ramana Maharshi

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And the only practice is seeing this, 

which is Awareness, 

which is this which an eye cannot see when it looks at itself.

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Practice is deepening understanding, 

for understanding is first an intuitional glimpse of the truth of this, 

then the obtaining of this intuitional glimpse at will, 

and, finally, the permanent installation of this inseeing 

when "walking, standing, sitting and lying," in public and in private, asleep and awake.

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~ Wei Wu Wei

from All Else is Bondage
x-ray image of a rose by albert koetsier

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here and now

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There is no greater mystery than this, 

that we keep seeking reality though in fact we are reality. 

We think that there is something hiding reality 

and that this must be destroyed before reality is gained. 

How ridiculous! 

A day will dawn when you will laugh at all your past efforts. 

That which will be the day you laugh is also here and now.
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- Ramana Maharshi

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By the inquiry 'Who am I?'

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"By the inquiry 'Who am I?'.

The thought 'who am I?' will destroy all other thoughts,

and like the stick used for stirring the burning pyre,

it will itself in the end get destroyed.

Then, there will arise Self-realization."

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~ Ramana Maharshi

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The mind is nothing but the thought "I"

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Thoughts arise because of the thinker.

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The thinker is the ego, which if sought will automatically vanish.

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Reality is simply loss of the ego.

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Destroy the ego by seeking its identity.

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Because the ego has no real existence, it will automatically vanish, and Reality will shine forth by itself in all its glory.

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This is the direct method.

All other methods retain the ego,  In those paths so many doubts arise, and the eternal question remains to be tackled.  But in this method the final question is the only one and is raised from the very beginning.

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No practices are even necessary for this quest.

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The cause of misery is not in life without;  it is within you as the ego.

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You impose limitations on yourself and then make a vain struggle to transcend them.

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Why attribute to the happenings in life the cause of misery, which really lies within you?  What happiness can you get from anything extraneous to yourself?  When you get it, how long will it last?

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There are no stages to Realization of degrees of Liberation.  There are no levels of Reality; there are only levels of experience for the individual.

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It is not a matter of becoming but of being.

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Remain aware of yourself and all else will be known.

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~ Ramana Maharshi

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the direct path for all

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Find out who is subject to free will or predestination and abide in that state.  Then both are transcended.  That is the only purpose in discussing these questions.  To whom do such questions present themselves?   Discover that and be at peace.

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Your true nature is that of infinite spirit.  The feeling of limitation is the work of the mind.  When the mind unceasingly investigates its own nature,  it transpires that there is no such thing as mind.  This is the direct path for all.

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Your speak as if you are here,  and the Self is somewhere else and you had to go and reach it ... But in fact the Self is here and now,  and you are always It.

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The realized person weeps with the weeping, laughs with the laughing, plays with the playful, sings with those who sing, keeping time to the song.   His presence is like a pure,  transparent mirror.  It reflects our image exactly as we are.  It is we who play the several parts in life and reap the fruits of our actions.  How is the mirror or the stand on which it is mounted affected?  Nothing affects them,  as they are mere supports.

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~ Ramana Maharshi

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Peace of Self

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If one gains the Peace of Self, it will spread without any effort on the part of the individual.

When one is not peaceful, oneself, how can one spread peace in the world?

Unless one is happy,  one cannot bestow happiness on others.  Happiness is born of Peace and can reign only when there is no disturbance.  Disturbance is due to thoughts,  which arise in the mind.  When the mind is absent there will be perfect Peace.

The ultimate truth is so simple;  it is nothing more than being in one's natural original state.  Because people want elaborate and mysterious, so many religions have come into existence.  Only those who are mature can understand the mater in its naked simplicity.

There is neither past nor future;  there is only the present.  Yesterday was the present when you experienced it;  tomorrow will also be the present when you experience it.  Therefore, experience takes place only in the present, and beyond and apart from experience nothing exists.

Even the present is mere imagination, for the sense of time is purely mental.

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~ Ramana Maharshi

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