1. Who am I?
The gross body which is composed of the seven humours (dhatus), I am not; the five cognitive sense organs, viz., the senses of hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell, their respective objects, viz. sound, touch, colour, taste and odour, I am not; the five cognative sense organs, viz., the organs of speech, locomotion, grasping, excretion and procreation, their respective functions, speaking, moving, grasping, excreting and enjoying, I am not; the five vital airs, prana, etc., the five functions of in-breathing, etc., I am not; even the mind which thinks, I am not; the nescience too, which is endowed only with the residual impressions of objects and in which there are no objects and no functionings, I am not.
2. If I am none of these, then who am I?
After negating all of the above mentioned as ‘not this’, ‘not this’, that Awareness which alone remains – that I am.
3. What is the nature of Awareness?
The nature of Awareness is Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.
4. When will the realization of the Self be gained?
When the world which is what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realization of the Self which is the seer.
5. Will there not be realization of the Self even while the world is there (taken as real)?
There will not be.
6. Why?
...Just as the knowledge of the rope which is the substratum will not arise unless the false knowledge of the illusory serpent goes, so the realization of the Self which is the substratum will not be gained unless the belief that the world is real is removed.
7. When will the world which is the object seen be removed?
When the mind, which is the cause of all cognition and of all actions, becomes quiescent, the world will disappear.
8. What is the nature of the mind?
...Apart from thoughts, there is no such thing as mind...When the mind comes out of the Self, the world appears. Therefore, when the world appears (to be real), the Self does not appear; and when the Self appears (shines) the world does not appear...
9. What is the path of inquiry for understanding the nature of the mind?
...Of all the thoughts that arise in the mind, the ‘I’-thought is the first...
10. How will the mind become quiescent?
By the inquiry ‘Who am I?’. 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.
11. What is the means for constantly holding on to the thought ‘Who am I?’
...‘To whom has this thought arisen?’. The answer that would emerge would be ‘to me’. Thereupon if one inquires ‘Who am I?’, the mind will go back to its source; and the thought that arose will become quiescent. With repeated practice in this manner, the mind will develop the skill to stay in its source....
12. Are there no other means for making the mind quiescent?
...the exercise of breath control is only an aid for rendering the mind quiescent (manonigraha); it will not destroy the mind (manonasa).... Through meditation on the forms of God and through repetition of mantras, the mind becomes one-pointed, each thought becomes weak;for such a mind Self-inquiry will become easy... taking of sattvic food in moderate quantities is the best; the sattvic quality of mind will increase. and that will be helpful to Self-inquiry.
13. The residual impressions (thoughts) of objects appear unending like the waves of an ocean. When will all of them get destroyed?
As the meditation on the Self rises higher and higher, the thoughts will get destroyed.
14. Is it possible for the residual impressions of objects that come from beginningless time, as it were, to be resolved, and for one to remain as the pure Self?
..concentrate keenly on meditation on the Self; then, one would surely succeed...The mind should not be allowed to wander towards worldly objects and what concerns other people. However bad other people may be, one should bear no hatred for them. Both desire and hatred should be eschewed. All that one gives to others one gives to one’s self. If this truth is understood who will not give to others?..
15. How long should inquiry be practised?
As long as there are impressions of objects in the mind, so long the inquiry ‘Who am I?’ is required....If one resorts to contemplation of the Self unintermittently, until the Self is gained, that alone would do...
16. What is the nature of the Self?
What exists in truth is the Self alone...The Self is that where there is absolutely no ‘I’-thought. That is called ‘Silence’. The Self itself is the world; the Self itself is ‘I’; the Self itself is God; all is Siva, the Self.
17. Is not everything the work of God?
...Just as in the presence of the magnet the needle moves, it is by virtue of the mere presence of God that the souls governed by the three (cosmic) functions or the fivefold divine activity perform their actions and then rest, in accordance with their respective karmas. God has no resolve; no karma attaches itself to Him....
18. Of the devotees, who is the greatest?
...Giving one’s self up to God means remaining constantly in the Self without giving room for the rise of any thoughts other than that of the Self...Whatever burdens are thrown on God, He bears them...We know that the train carries all loads, so after getting on it why should we carry our small luggage on our head to our discomfort, instead of putting it down in the train and feeling at ease?
19. What is non-attachment?
As thoughts arise, destroying them utterly without any residue in the very place of their origin is non-attachment.
20. Is it not possible for God and the Guru to effect the liberation of a soul?
God and the Guru will only show the way to liberation; they will not by themselves take the soul to the state of liberation. In truth, God and the Guru are not different...so those who have come within the ambit of the Guru’s gracious look will be saved by the Guru and will not get lost; yet, each one should, by his own effort pursue the path shown by God or Guru and gain liberation.
21. Is it necessary for one who longs for liberation to inquire into the nature of categories (tattvas)?
...what he has to do is to reject altogether the categories that hide the Self. The world should be considered like a dream.
22. Is there no difference between waking and dream?
Waking is long and dream short; other than this there is no difference...In both waking and dream states thoughts, names and forms occur simultaneously.
23. Is it any use reading books for those who long for liberation?
All the texts say..mind should be rendered quiescent; once this has been understood there is no need for endless reading...The Self is within the five sheaths; but books are outside them. Since the Self has to be inquired into by discarding the five sheaths, it is futile to search for it in books. There will come a time when one will have to forget all that one has learned.
24. What is happiness?
Happiness is the very nature of the Self; happiness and the Self are not different...the mind of the one who knows the truth does not leave Brahman...In fact, what is called the world is only thought. When the world disappears, i.e., when there is no thought, the mind experiences happiness; and when the world appears, it goes through misery.
25. What is wisdom-insight (jnana drishti)?
Remaining quiet is what is called wisdom-insight. To remain quiet is to resolve the mind in the Self. Telepathy, knowing past, present and future happenings and clairvoyance do not constitute wisdom-insight.
26. What is the relation between desirelessness and wisdom?
Desirelessness is wisdom...In other words, not seeking what is other than the Self is detachment or desirelessness; not leaving the Self is wisdom.
27. What is the difference between inquiry and meditation?
Inquiry consists in retaining the mind in the Self. Meditation consists in thinking that one’s self is Brahman, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.
28. What is liberation?
Inquiring into the nature of one’s self that is in bondage, and realising one’s true nature is liberation.
http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/downloadbooks/whoami_all_languages/Who_Am_I_English.pdf
The gross body which is composed of the seven humours (dhatus), I am not; the five cognitive sense organs, viz., the senses of hearing, touch, sight, taste and smell, their respective objects, viz. sound, touch, colour, taste and odour, I am not; the five cognative sense organs, viz., the organs of speech, locomotion, grasping, excretion and procreation, their respective functions, speaking, moving, grasping, excreting and enjoying, I am not; the five vital airs, prana, etc., the five functions of in-breathing, etc., I am not; even the mind which thinks, I am not; the nescience too, which is endowed only with the residual impressions of objects and in which there are no objects and no functionings, I am not.
2. If I am none of these, then who am I?
After negating all of the above mentioned as ‘not this’, ‘not this’, that Awareness which alone remains – that I am.
3. What is the nature of Awareness?
The nature of Awareness is Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.
4. When will the realization of the Self be gained?
When the world which is what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realization of the Self which is the seer.
5. Will there not be realization of the Self even while the world is there (taken as real)?
There will not be.
6. Why?
...Just as the knowledge of the rope which is the substratum will not arise unless the false knowledge of the illusory serpent goes, so the realization of the Self which is the substratum will not be gained unless the belief that the world is real is removed.
7. When will the world which is the object seen be removed?
When the mind, which is the cause of all cognition and of all actions, becomes quiescent, the world will disappear.
8. What is the nature of the mind?
...Apart from thoughts, there is no such thing as mind...When the mind comes out of the Self, the world appears. Therefore, when the world appears (to be real), the Self does not appear; and when the Self appears (shines) the world does not appear...
9. What is the path of inquiry for understanding the nature of the mind?
...Of all the thoughts that arise in the mind, the ‘I’-thought is the first...
10. How will the mind become quiescent?
By the inquiry ‘Who am I?’. 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.
11. What is the means for constantly holding on to the thought ‘Who am I?’
...‘To whom has this thought arisen?’. The answer that would emerge would be ‘to me’. Thereupon if one inquires ‘Who am I?’, the mind will go back to its source; and the thought that arose will become quiescent. With repeated practice in this manner, the mind will develop the skill to stay in its source....
12. Are there no other means for making the mind quiescent?
...the exercise of breath control is only an aid for rendering the mind quiescent (manonigraha); it will not destroy the mind (manonasa).... Through meditation on the forms of God and through repetition of mantras, the mind becomes one-pointed, each thought becomes weak;for such a mind Self-inquiry will become easy... taking of sattvic food in moderate quantities is the best; the sattvic quality of mind will increase. and that will be helpful to Self-inquiry.
13. The residual impressions (thoughts) of objects appear unending like the waves of an ocean. When will all of them get destroyed?
As the meditation on the Self rises higher and higher, the thoughts will get destroyed.
14. Is it possible for the residual impressions of objects that come from beginningless time, as it were, to be resolved, and for one to remain as the pure Self?
..concentrate keenly on meditation on the Self; then, one would surely succeed...The mind should not be allowed to wander towards worldly objects and what concerns other people. However bad other people may be, one should bear no hatred for them. Both desire and hatred should be eschewed. All that one gives to others one gives to one’s self. If this truth is understood who will not give to others?..
15. How long should inquiry be practised?
As long as there are impressions of objects in the mind, so long the inquiry ‘Who am I?’ is required....If one resorts to contemplation of the Self unintermittently, until the Self is gained, that alone would do...
16. What is the nature of the Self?
What exists in truth is the Self alone...The Self is that where there is absolutely no ‘I’-thought. That is called ‘Silence’. The Self itself is the world; the Self itself is ‘I’; the Self itself is God; all is Siva, the Self.
17. Is not everything the work of God?
...Just as in the presence of the magnet the needle moves, it is by virtue of the mere presence of God that the souls governed by the three (cosmic) functions or the fivefold divine activity perform their actions and then rest, in accordance with their respective karmas. God has no resolve; no karma attaches itself to Him....
18. Of the devotees, who is the greatest?
...Giving one’s self up to God means remaining constantly in the Self without giving room for the rise of any thoughts other than that of the Self...Whatever burdens are thrown on God, He bears them...We know that the train carries all loads, so after getting on it why should we carry our small luggage on our head to our discomfort, instead of putting it down in the train and feeling at ease?
19. What is non-attachment?
As thoughts arise, destroying them utterly without any residue in the very place of their origin is non-attachment.
20. Is it not possible for God and the Guru to effect the liberation of a soul?
God and the Guru will only show the way to liberation; they will not by themselves take the soul to the state of liberation. In truth, God and the Guru are not different...so those who have come within the ambit of the Guru’s gracious look will be saved by the Guru and will not get lost; yet, each one should, by his own effort pursue the path shown by God or Guru and gain liberation.
21. Is it necessary for one who longs for liberation to inquire into the nature of categories (tattvas)?
...what he has to do is to reject altogether the categories that hide the Self. The world should be considered like a dream.
22. Is there no difference between waking and dream?
Waking is long and dream short; other than this there is no difference...In both waking and dream states thoughts, names and forms occur simultaneously.
23. Is it any use reading books for those who long for liberation?
All the texts say..mind should be rendered quiescent; once this has been understood there is no need for endless reading...The Self is within the five sheaths; but books are outside them. Since the Self has to be inquired into by discarding the five sheaths, it is futile to search for it in books. There will come a time when one will have to forget all that one has learned.
24. What is happiness?
Happiness is the very nature of the Self; happiness and the Self are not different...the mind of the one who knows the truth does not leave Brahman...In fact, what is called the world is only thought. When the world disappears, i.e., when there is no thought, the mind experiences happiness; and when the world appears, it goes through misery.
25. What is wisdom-insight (jnana drishti)?
Remaining quiet is what is called wisdom-insight. To remain quiet is to resolve the mind in the Self. Telepathy, knowing past, present and future happenings and clairvoyance do not constitute wisdom-insight.
26. What is the relation between desirelessness and wisdom?
Desirelessness is wisdom...In other words, not seeking what is other than the Self is detachment or desirelessness; not leaving the Self is wisdom.
27. What is the difference between inquiry and meditation?
Inquiry consists in retaining the mind in the Self. Meditation consists in thinking that one’s self is Brahman, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss.
28. What is liberation?
Inquiring into the nature of one’s self that is in bondage, and realising one’s true nature is liberation.
http://www.sriramanamaharshi.org/downloadbooks/whoami_all_languages/Who_Am_I_English.pdf
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