Ramana Maharshi’s  Nan Yar ?  Who Am I ?[continued]

                                                                                               

[6]   The Seer & the Object seen are like the Rope & the Snake. Just as the Knowledge of the Rope which is the substrate will not arise unless the false knowledge of the illusory Serpent goes, so the Realization of the Self which is the substrate

will not be gained unless the belief  that the World is real is removed. 

hallucination of Snake in dim light,    more light (Self-Inquiry) reveals it to be a Rope

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a mistaken objective World appears  subjective Self (the Rope) was there all along

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self-other ignorance & fear like Ego   the Absolute Self (the Rope) was there all along

A similar ancient Vedic analogy mentioned by the Maharshi elsewhere is that of the Tree-Stump Bandit. Here the Stump in a negative sense plays the role of the Rope, mis-perceived due to fear, dim light, & inadvertent weak focus & concentration. Whereas the Rope, not seen as such, was actually the Self, in this next analogy, the Stump not seen as such, is essentially nothing at all. The Rope was mistaken for a World, while the Stump is mistaken for an Ego. Focusing concentration in the bright light of Self-Inquiry, facing the concept directly, the Ego-Stump illusion vanishes

 [7]   When will the World, which is the Object seen, be removed?
  When the Mind, which is the cause of all cognitions &of all actions, becomes quiet, the World will disappear.

The World is not seen, & is not known, if there is no instrument to know it. Even the Sun cannot be seen without an Eye. The World is the collection of sense Perception–Thoughts entertained by an illusory Mind. That Mind is the “internal seeing” organ called the Antahkarana divisible into 4 components. The word that is a cognate to “mind” is Manas the Thought & image forming component. The source & anchor component is Ahamkara or Ego. Memory, emotions, & the raw-material mindstuff is Chitta. The clearest refection of the Self in the Mind is the discriminating Intellect Buddhi. When the Buddhi is properly tasked with Self-Liberation, there results a “buddha”.

[8]  What is the nature of the Mind?

What is called “Mind” is a wondrous power residing in the Self. It causes all Thoughts to arise. Apart from Thoughts, there is no such thing as Mind.  Therefore, Thought is the nature of Mind. Apart from Thoughts - no independent entity called the World.

In Deep Sleep there are no Thoughts, & there is no World.  In the states of Waking & Dream, there are Thoughts, & there is a World also.