The integrated man, he in whom equilibrium has been re-established, has no wishes. As with love so is it with desires; freed from the personal factor, the one has become caritas and the other a glad acceptance that what must happen shall happen.
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Ends as Means
As one comes to understand the consequences of Satori he splits them up, in his normal manner of the plane of seeming, into what he discriminates as qualities, attributes, characteristics, whereas they are one whole state in Reality.
These qualities he seeks, perhaps unconsciously but often by disciplining his ego, to practise in his existing condition, having imagined those consequences as means. This process seems to resemble a species of sympathetic magic, as practised in Central Africa.
But can there be any virtue in it? Imagining the greatest conceivable degree of success, will the result be anything but an imitation, a mimicry, an actor playing the role of a god? Even if it became habitual through conditioned reflexes the subject of such conditioning would remain in the same identification as before the process began. Could a conditioned ego bring him nearer the realisation of the state he imitates? It seems unlikely, and perhaps even less than in the case of purely intellectual understanding, less because it may constitute a barrier, or should one say a greater barrier?
* * *
Progress?
How proud you are of your humility!
How you enjoy self-sacrifice!
How devoted you are to detachment! (Except, of course, when you are indifferent.)
How grateful you are to yourself for being kind to others!* * *
Every time we use the word 'ego' we are talking nonsense.
Do we realise that?
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Self is Not Self
The Self is not my-self, your-self; it is only ITS-self - the Self of the essence of the universe.
'There is no self but the Self': i.e. there IS no my-self or your-self.
Rather than anything personal the Self is Suchness, Thusness, Quiddité. It is only applicable to a thing or an animal is so far as such thing or animal represents the Absolute.
Our identification of it with that which is personal is no doubt the essence of our false identification with a supposed ego.
If we realised that we had no self we should at the same time realise the true meaning of the word. That might be the essential of intuitive knowledge.
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'Find Out Who it is Who is Predestined or has Free Will'
(Ramana Maharshi) 'Whatever is destined not to happen will not happen, try as you may. Whatever is destined to happen will happen, do what you may to prevent it. This is certain.'
'All actions that the body is to perform are already decided upon at the time it comes into existence: the only freedom you have is whether or not to identify yourself with the body.'
Probably you did not believe me? (Freewill and Reality, Ch. 18). You might consider more worthy of consideration the words of someone speaking from the plane of Reality, and rightly so. The words quoted were written, and spoken, by the Maharshi.
But, since this is not a collection of quotations, but an independent transmission with its own turn of thought, however lacking in authority, I will give it in the words of this pilgrim:
You cannot do that which is already left undone: nor can you not do that which already is done.
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