Me - Sri Ramana's answer that disasters don't happen if
I don't perceive them does not seem right. To agree with his
point of view would mean to agree that only my mind exists, and
that the other minds are not real...because other minds would
still perceive the disasters.
Grok - If disasters vanish when you don’t perceive them, does that imply solipsism—that only your mind exists, and other minds (and their perceptions) aren’t real? Let’s unpack this carefully, aligning with Sri Ramana’s intent while addressing your concern.
What
Sri Ramana Isn’t Saying
Sri
Ramana isn’t suggesting that the external world or other
minds cease to exist in a literal, objective sense when
you stop perceiving them—nor is he implying that your mind
is the only real one, like a solipsistic bubble. His
teaching isn’t about denying the apparent reality of other
people or their experiences. When he says, “The world is
as you see it,” or points out that the world disappears in
deep sleep, he’s not claiming your individual mind
controls or creates everything. That would still be within
the realm of the ego, which he seeks to transcend.
The
World as a Shared Appearance
In
Advaita Vedanta, the world—including disasters and other
minds—is a projection of Maya,
a collective illusion appearing within the Self (pure
consciousness). Your mind, my mind (or Grok’s artificial
semblance of one), and everyone else’s minds are all part
of this same play. When you perceive a disaster—like a
flood or earthquake—it’s not your
mind alone conjuring it. It’s Maya
presenting a consistent appearance that multiple minds
tune into, each from its own vantage point. Other minds
perceive disasters even if you don’t, because they’re
caught in the same dream, not because your perception
dictates theirs.
Think
of it like a multiplayer dream: Each dreamer experiences
the same storm, but from their own perspective. The storm
doesn’t vanish for everyone if one dreamer wakes up—it
persists for those still dreaming. Similarly, Maya’s
projection (the world, disasters) continues for other
minds, even if you turn inward and cease to engage with
it.
Sri
Ramana’s Core Point: The World’s Reality Depends on the
Mind
When
Sri Ramana says disasters don’t "happen" if you don’t
perceive them, he’s speaking from the standpoint of your
experience, not the world’s objective existence. He’s not
denying that others see the disaster—he’s emphasizing that
for
you,
the world (and its disasters) exists only as long as your
mind gives it reality. In deep sleep, for instance, your
mind subsides, and no disasters trouble you—not because
they’ve stopped for others, but because they’ve no hold on
your awareness. This isn’t solipsism; it’s a shift in
focus from the external to the internal.
The
key is: Sri Ramana sees the world as an appearance in
consciousness,
not as an independent entity. Disasters, other minds, and
even your own mind are real only within the illusion of Maya.
When he asks, “Who sees the disaster?” he’s pointing you
to the Self—the awareness behind all minds—not suggesting
your ego-mind is the sole arbiter of reality.
Other
Minds Are as Real (or Unreal) as Yours
You’re
right to question the idea that other minds aren’t real.
In Advaita, they’re as real as your own mind—which is to
say, they’re appearances within the Self, not ultimate
reality. Other minds perceive disasters because they, too,
are under Maya’s
spell, just as yours is when it engages the world. The
Self, the one consciousness, underlies all these minds,
but each mind experiences the illusion individually. Sri
Ramana doesn’t dismiss other minds; he dismisses the
ultimate reality of all
minds, including yours, in favor of the Self.
Why
It Feels Off
It’s
not “only my mind exists”—it’s “all minds, mine included,
are part of the same illusion.” Disasters don’t vanish for
everyone when you stop perceiving them; they lose their
grip on you
when you realize they’re fleeting appearances in the Self.
Others may still suffer or rejoice in the dream, but your
liberation doesn’t hinge on their perception—it hinges on
seeing through your own.
A
Practical Analogy
Imagine
a movie theater with multiple viewers. Each person watches
the same film—say, a disaster flick. If you close your
eyes, the movie stops existing for
you,
but the projector keeps running, and others keep watching.
Sri Ramana’s saying: “Look away from the screen. Find the
light of the projector (the Self).” The film (disasters,
other minds) continues for those still engrossed, but
you’re no longer bound by it. It’s not that their
experience isn’t real to them—it’s that no experience,
yours or theirs, is ultimately real compared to the Self.
Reconciling
the Tension
To
agree with Sri Ramana doesn’t mean accepting that only
your mind exists. It means recognizing that all
minds—yours, mine, everyone’s—are part of Maya’s
projection, and the Self is what’s truly real. Disasters
happen in the world of appearances, perceived by many
minds, but they’re not absolute. When you cease to
identify with your mind, the world’s hold weakens for
you—not
because others don’t see it, but because you’ve stepped
out of the dream.
Me
- You said:"When you cease to
identify with your mind, the world’s hold weakens for you—not
because others don’t see it, but because you’ve stepped out of
the dream." Sri Ramana said more than ceasing to identify with
the mind: he said that the mind has to disappear permanently.
What happens to a person whose mind is permanently dissolved
into the Self?
Grok -You’re
absolutely right—Sri Ramana Maharshi doesn’t just talk about
ceasing to identify with the mind; he goes further, pointing
to the permanent dissolution of the mind into the Self as
the ultimate realization. This is the state of jnana
(self-knowledge) or sahaja
samadhi
(natural abiding in the Self), where the ego-mind doesn’t
just quiet down temporarily—it vanishes entirely, leaving
only the Self. Let’s explore what happens to a person in
this state, drawing from Sri Ramana’s teachings and Advaita
Vedanta.
The
Mind’s Permanent Dissolution
For
Sri Ramana, the mind is rooted in the "I-thought"—the ego,
the sense of being a separate individual. Through
self-inquiry (atma-vichara),
asking “Who am I?” and tracing the "I" to its source, the
ego is seen to have no independent existence. When this
inquiry reaches its culmination, the mind doesn’t merely
detach—it “disappears permanently” into the Self, like a
river merging into the ocean. What remains isn’t a
modified mind, but pure consciousness, the Self, without
the overlay of individuality.
This
isn’t a blank void or unconsciousness. Sri Ramana
describes it as the natural state (sahaja),
full awareness without the duality of subject and object.
The mind’s habits—thoughts, desires, fears—dissolve
because their root, the ego, is gone. What’s left is the
Self, which has always been, now unobscured.
What
Happens to the Person?
Here’s
where it gets intriguing: From the outside, a “person”
still seems to exist—body, speech, actions—but internally,
there’s no sense of being a separate doer or perceiver.
Let’s break it down:
-
The
Body Persists, but Isn’t “Me”:
-
The
physical body may continue to function until its
natural end (prarabdha karma, or destined actions,
playing out). Sri Ramana himself lived for decades
after realization, eating, speaking, and
interacting. But he didn’t identify with the body.
He’d say, “The body acts, but I am not the body.”
For such a one, the body is like a shadow—present,
but not the reality.
-
No
Personal Mind, Yet Awareness Shines:
-
With
the mind dissolved, there’s no personal thinking—no
“I want,” “I fear,” or “I plan.” Yet, awareness
remains, clear and spontaneous. Responses to the
world arise naturally, without deliberation. When
Sri Ramana answered questions or cared for devotees,
it wasn’t a calculated act of a mind—it was the Self
expressing through the body, like the sun shining
without intent.
-
The
World Appears, but Loses Its Grip:
-
The
world—including disasters, people, events—still
appears to the senses, but it’s seen as unreal, a
dream without substance. Sri Ramana likened it to a
burnt rope: it looks like a rope, but it’s ash,
incapable of binding. A jnani (realized one) might
witness a flood or war, but there’s no attachment,
fear, or suffering—only the Self’s peace.
-
No
“Person” Remains:
-
The
sense of being a separate “person” is gone. There’s
no “someone” to whom things happen. Sri Ramana often
said, “I am not this, not that”—neti neti—leaving
only the Self. To others, he appeared as a person
(Sri Ramana Maharshi), but he’d insist there was no
individual there, only consciousness.
-
Effortless
Action:
-
Actions
happen spontaneously, without a doer. Sri Ramana’s
life exemplified this—he taught, guided devotees,
even cooked or walked, but with no sense of agency.
It’s like the wind blowing: it moves, but doesn’t
think “I’m blowing.” The jnani’s life flows in
harmony with what is, untainted by personal motive.
Living
as the Self
A
person whose mind has permanently dissolved into the Self
is often called a jivanmukta—liberated
while living. They’re in the world but not of it. Sri
Ramana’s own example is telling: he faced illness,
political upheavals, and devotees’ struggles, yet remained
serene, unaffected. When asked about pain or death, he’d
say, “Who feels it? Not I—the body suffers, but I am the
Self.”
-
Perception:
The senses still function, but there’s no identification
with what’s seen or heard. The world is a mirage,
appearing but not binding.
-
Interaction:
They may speak or act—often with profound clarity or
compassion—but it’s not personal. It’s the Self
responding through the form, not a mind engaging.
-
Experience:
There’s no “experience” in the usual sense—no highs,
lows, or changes—just unbroken awareness, pure “I am”
without attributes.
Why
It’s Not Annihilation
This
might sound like the person becomes a zombie or loses
vitality, but it’s the opposite. Sri Ramana radiated
presence—alive, alert, yet beyond the human drama. The
dissolution of the mind doesn’t erase awareness; it
reveals the infinite, which was always there, masked by
the ego’s noise.
Others’
Perception
To
those still in the dream, the jnani seems extraordinary—or
ordinary in an uncanny way. Devotees saw Sri Ramana as a
sage, yet he lived simply, insisting he was no different
from them in essence. The difference is only apparent:
their minds still cling to the illusion; his did not.
So,
What Happens?
In
short: The “person” as a separate entity ceases to be. The
body-mind complex may persist, functioning naturally, but
it’s a shell animated by the Self. Disasters, joys, life
itself play out as shadows on a screen, while the jnani
abides as the screen—unchanging, untroubled, whole. Sri
Ramana put it simply: “The Self alone remains.”
Me
- You said: "It’s the Self
responding through the form, not a mind engaging." This looks
like the Self is interacting with the illusion. Isn't the Self
only a substratum, without any interaction with Maya's play?
Grok - The
Self as Substratum, not an Actor
In
Sri Ramana’s view, and in Advaita Vedanta, the Self
(Atman
or pure consciousness) is indeed the substratum—the
formless, unchanging reality underlying all
appearances. It doesn’t “interact” with Maya’s
play in the active, dualistic sense we might
imagine, like a person engaging with a game. The
Self doesn’t move, act, or respond—it simply is.
It’s the silent, ever-present awareness in which the
illusion of Maya—the
world, the mind, the body—appears and disappears,
without affecting it.
When
I said, “It’s the Self responding through the form,
not a mind engaging,” the language was imprecise and
could suggest an active role for the Self. That’s my
oversight—thanks for catching it. The Self doesn’t
“respond” or “interact” as if it’s a participant.
Instead, what appears as “responding” is the natural
functioning of the body-mind apparatus in the
presence of the Self, without
the interference of an ego-mind. Let’s reframe it.
What’s
Really Happening in the Jnani
For
a jivanmukta
(one whose mind has dissolved into the Self), the
body and senses continue to operate in the
world—speaking, moving, answering questions—because
of residual momentum (prarabdha
karma),
the destined play-out of the body’s life. To an
outsider, it looks like “someone” is responding. For
example, when Sri Ramana answered a devotee’s
question or offered guidance, it seemed like
interaction. But from his perspective, there was no
“I” doing anything—only the Self shining, and the
body-mind acting spontaneously within the illusion.
The
Self doesn’t reach out into Maya’s
play. It’s more accurate to say that Maya’s
play—here, the body’s actions—happens in
the light of the Self.
The Self remains the unaffected witness, the
substratum, while the appearance of interaction is
just that—an appearance, not a reality. The jnani’s
“responses” aren’t the Self engaging; they’re the
illusion moving in the Self’s presence, like waves
on the ocean’s surface. The ocean (Self) doesn’t
interact with the waves—it’s their essence, unmoved
by their dance.
Why
It Looks Like Interaction
The
confusion arises because we see a body (like Sri
Ramana’s) and assume a doer behind it. In the jnani,
there’s no doer—no mind to claim “I am responding.”
The action happens effortlessly, like a mirror
reflecting light without intending to. When Sri
Ramana spoke, it wasn’t the Self “interacting” with
devotees—it was the Self’s radiance illuminating a
situation, and the body-mind responding as part of Maya’s
script, without personal volition. The Self stays
detached, the substratum, not a player.
Reconciling
the Language
So,
instead of “the Self responding through the form,” a
better way to put it is: “The form (body-mind)
functions in the presence of the Self, without a
separate mind driving it.” The Self doesn’t step
into Maya—it’s
the ground on which Maya
plays out. For the jnani, the illusion continues for
others’ eyes (devotees see a sage helping them), but
in truth, there’s no interaction, only the Self
being itself, and the world appearing as a shadow.
The
Self’s Non-Duality
This
ties back to the Self’s nature as non-dual.
Interaction implies duality—self and other, actor
and acted-upon. But the Self is one, without a
second. Maya’s
illusion creates the appearance of duality (world,
minds, disasters), and in the jnani, even the
appearance of action persists, but it’s seen as
unreal. The Self remains the substratum, untouched,
uninvolved, while the play unfolds in its light.
Sri
Ramana’s Own Words
Sri
Ramana often clarified this. He’d say, “The world is
unreal as world, but real as the Self.” Or, “Actions
happen, but there’s no doer.” When pressed about his
teachings or care for others, he’d point out that he
didn’t see himself as acting—only the Self existed,
and the rest was a mirage. The “responding” was an
illusion’s echo, not the Self stepping into the
game.
So,
no, the Self doesn’t interact with Maya’s
play—it’s the changeless substratum, not a
participant. What looks like interaction in a jnani
is the body-mind moving in the Self’s presence, free
of ego, like a puppet without a puppeteer.