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ISBN No :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, which apprehend 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, which have as their respective functions, speaking, moving, grasping, excreting and enjoying, I am not; the five vital airs, prana, etc., which perform respectively 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.
Ramana Maharshi (30 December 1879
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There are many, many books on nonduality out there, many of them quite extensive in breadth and depth. But the central tenet behind all of those words can be found in this tiny book: that the secret to life is to know oneself and to do that one must inquire of the self, again and again, "Who am I?" That's it, plain and simple. Beautiful in its simplicity, which of course is maddening to the mind, which always craves more.
