Reading 1 of 5 Who Is Asking

The question that turns back

Ramana Maharshi gives the shortest instruction on the Map: ask who is asking.

The reading — Ramana Maharshi, Nan Yar (Who Am I?), c. 1902

Nan Yar — Who Am I

If other thoughts arise, one should, without attempting to complete them, inquire “To whom did they arise?” What does it matter however many thoughts arise? At the very moment that each thought rises, if one vigilantly inquires “To whom did this arise?”, it will be known “To me.” If one then inquires “Who am I?”, the mind will turn back to its source and the thought which had arisen will also subside.
— Ramana Maharshi, Nan Yar

Hinduism c. 1902 CE Open this teaching on the Map →

The framing

Ramana’s method is one question, and it is not what am I but who. A thought arises. Instead of following it, you ask: to whom did this arise? To me. Then: who am I? And the mind, he says, turns back toward its source, and the thought subsides on its own.

Notice that this is not a philosophical inquiry. There is no essay to write. It is a physical move, like turning your head. Try it once while you read: something is reading this sentence. Ask who. Do not answer with a name, a job, a history; those are thoughts too, and the question applies to them. Just turn and look at what is doing the looking. Most people find nothing there they can point to. Ramana would say that is not a failure. That is the finding.

Carry with you

When you say “I” today, stop once and ask: to whom?

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