The way of the bird

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Doubts are the manifestation of ignorance. They arise in the mind and occupy the place that should be reserved for the simple acceptance of reality. Why does the mind doubt? Is it anything but habit? That habit may go back a long way-it may be based on sanskaras from many lives-but it is still only a habit and, as Maharaj said, habits can be changed. Faith in the Master, and the grace that comes with it, are stronger than any habit. 5.4 "Mind always thinks of what doesn't exist." Can the mind think of what really does exist? Since the very beginning, the saints and sages have stated very clearly that reality, the One Self that really exists, cannot be conceived in any way. The mind simply cannot reach it. What does that leave for the mind to think about? Only the fleeting and insubstantial forms that are here today and gone tomorrow. 5.5 "Forget `I' and He is there." As soon as the sense of being an individual "doer" is released, there is peace and relaxation. Actually, this happens fairly frequently in ordinary life; for example, when you sit down to rest after completing some task, but it may not be recognized for what it is. To recognize your true nature as it already exists is really the point. Sri Ramana Maharshi said that there is no one who is not Self-realized, all that is necessary is to get rid of the thought that you are not realized. Who is going to forget "I?" Can the "I" forget itself? The ego is not going to commit suicide. Fortunately, it isn't necessary to get involved in that kind of pointless struggle. The ego is really only a thought, or, to put it another way, a habitual way of thinking, that makes you believe, and then actually feel, that you is in bondage. If you hold on to the positive thought "I am He" that will help to weaken the ego in the early stages, but the final solution really only becomes possible when you understand that nothing can be accomplished through the mind. Then you place your head at the Master's feet, surrender yourself completely, and pray for his grace. 5.6 "Bondage and liberation are in the mind." The aspirant comes to the Master and says "Master, I have become a cat." The Master replies "No, you are a human being, not a cat." The aspirant then of course says "In that case, how did I become a cat?" What can the Master say? There is no cat. This is the situation with bondage and liberation. The problem is not real, only apparent. There isn't really a correct answer to the question "How to get liberation?" because the question itself is not valid, being based on a false assumption. However, the Master will typically make allowances for the fact that the aspirant has the conviction of bondage and will say something like "It has happened because of ignorance." 5.7 "I do not exist. I am not."
The whole of human interaction and human society is based on the assumption that there are separate individuals everywhere, each of whom is responsible for his or her own actions. Western-style society, law, and economic organization would be impossible without this fundamental premise. Only a very few realize the truth that no such individual persons ever existed in reality and that the notion of individuality itself is nothing more than a convention. If this truth ever became widely known and accepted, human society could hardly exist in its current form. "I" is misunderstood and misinterpreted. The ordinary conception of "I," referring to an individual personality, is so far from the truth that it becomes almost absurd to speak about it. This "I" is purely conventional, a creation of the functioning of mind and memory. And yet the everyday world revolves around it and caters to its desires as though it had some real existence. A true teacher will explain that the real meaning of "I" is infinite consciousness, and that any other understanding is false. 5.8 "It is only in the mind that I've done good or bad." Maharaj said that there are two ways to approach reality: one is to say "I don't exist, only He exists," and the other is to say "I am He, everything is myself." These two roughly correspond to the traditional paths of bhakti (devotion) and jnana (knowledge). On neither of these two paths is there any possibility of anyone actually performing any good or bad actions. If "I" do not exist, then the actions are not mine. If "I" am He, then the actions are His. You are already living in perfect freedom from the consequences of good and bad actions, but the ego-mind lays claim to them, assumes responsibility, and so perpetuates itself, going round and round in the circle of ignorance. 5.9 "`I' is only a thought." I remember once in the Gemini Hotel on my first visit to Bombay, waking up in the middle of the night, jumping out of bed, and pacing up and down, the thought repeating over and over: "Everything is thought, including yourself!" That sudden understanding had occurred in sleep and was sufficiently powerful to grab the mind and shake it awake. The thought of my own existence was nothing but that; a single thought. It was just a concept that had appeared and would, in due time, disappear. Where would I be then? That was the question that shook me. 5.10 "Ego is knowledge, ego is mind, and mind is nothing but thought." The word "mind" is convenient but does it really signify anything in itself? Surely there is no mind apart from the thought that is arising at any moment; the mind is nothing apart from its content. The thought of "I" is the ego. This "I" thought is the fundamental, basic thought, to which many other thoughts become attached. It returns persistently every morning because there is a pervasive belief in its reality. Its central role is taken for granted. It is the essential concept on which the mind rests, and it is, to all intents and
Page 1 and 2: The Way Of The Bird Quotations of R
Page 3 and 4: a collection of separate objects an
Page 5 and 6: objects. All of it taken together i
Page 7 and 8: yourself as the ego is to forget th
Page 9 and 10: false concept of a "doer." Life wit
Page 11 and 12: decay that plays itself out much sl
Page 13 and 14: thing that was real. In the same wa
Page 15 and 16: "I am Brahman" is a phrase that is
Page 17 and 18: Maharaj would often use the phrase
Page 19 and 20: continue to play a part but you wil
Page 21 and 22: Understanding the nature of reality
Page 23 and 24: development through accumulation an
Page 25 and 26: tiny spring, is water when it passe
Page 27 and 28: It is always now, whether you are r
Page 29 and 30: "knowledge" in Self-knowledge is re
Page 31 and 32: The world is not a place in which l
Page 33 and 34: 4.4 "I am an ignorant person. I kno
Page 35 and 36: 4.10 "The power is also not true."
Page 37 and 38: more subtle than objects because it
Page 39 and 40: 4.25 "In Oneness, there is neither
Page 41: 5 May: The "Problem" of the Ego 5.1
Page 45 and 46: 5.14 "I take bondage on myself." Yo
Page 47 and 48: Fools, dwelling in darkness but wis
Page 49 and 50: Maharaj equates mind with ego, and
Page 51 and 52: 6 June: Being an Aspirant 6.1 "You
Page 53 and 54: elimination. This is why Maharaj sa
Page 55 and 56: disciples to become what he was. He
Page 57 and 58: 6.19 "If doubts come in the mind, a
Page 59 and 60: describe your symptoms, and then re
Page 61 and 62: 7 July: The Work of the Master 7.1
Page 63 and 64: There is no "you" in reality, but t
Page 65 and 66: fullness (sat-chit-ananda) is your
Page 67 and 68: and that you are That, just as he i
Page 69 and 70: The ability to accept what the Mast
Page 71 and 72: 8 August: Grace and Understanding 8
Page 73 and 74: true nature is pure consciousness.
Page 75 and 76: Grace is there in the beginning, in
Page 77 and 78: for its own sake, but for the sake
Page 79 and 80: yourself everywhere. When you see "
Page 81 and 82: everywhere and so it is yourself th
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Page 85 and 86: 9.15 "When his body goes away, the
Page 87 and 88: 9.21 "Only the realized person can
Page 89 and 90: By his mere glance, Bondage becomes
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want something," and all the variat
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It can hardly be emphasized often e
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10.23 "Guests come and go. They nev
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10.30 "It is not easy to cross the
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"You" have disappeared, in that the
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This went on for some time and the
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When you get knowledge of the Self,
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can experience the deep sleep of th
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11.26 "The state of forgetfulness i
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12 December: The Realized Person 12
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again. Because you always know your
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When the eye is single, the whole b
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artificial limitation created by th
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12.24 "Doership rests in Maya and n
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The individual consciousness that e
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The way of the bird

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