As The Bodies Are Innumerable How Can it Be Said That The Self is Only One? | Ramana's Answer

Sri Ramana Maharshi, one of modern India's most revered sages, stands as a shining beacon in the Advaita Vedanta tradition. Born in 1879 in Tiruchuzhi, Tamil Nadu, his awakening came at the age of sixteen through a spontaneous and profound realization of immortality—the direct experience that his true nature was not the body, but pure, unchanging Consciousness. After this awakening, he lived for years in silence on the sacred hill of Arunāchala, where seekers from around the world came to sit in his radiant presence. Ramana's teachings, distilled through his serene words and living example, unwaveringly point to the essence of Nonduality—the recognition that only the Self (Ātman) is real and that everything else is merely an appearance within it.

In this excerpt from "Be As You Are," by David Godman, Ramana Maharshi addresses a profound question about the apparent multiplicity of beings. The questioner observes that there are countless bodies and individual selves—so how can it be said that the Self is only one? Ramana explains that this illusion of multiplicity arises only when we identify with the body and mind. When the false idea of "I am the body" dissolves, what remains is the undivided Self—pure Consciousness, without subject or object. The body, he says, has no existence separate from the mind, and the mind itself cannot exist without Consciousness. Consciousness, in turn, has no reality separate from the Self. Therefore, all distinctions disappear in the light of Self-awareness.

Ramana further clarifies that for one who has realized the Self, there is nothing more to be known. When the ego—the false "I" that identifies with the body—perishes, what remains is sat-cit-ānanda, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss itself. The jñānī (the wise one) sees no difference between body or bodilessness, life or death, self or other—for all are seen as the same indivisible Reality. What we call "realization" is not the acquisition of something new, but the discovery of what has always been present. Ramana uses a simple but illuminating metaphor: when we dig a well, the space within the well is not created—it has always been there. We merely remove the earth that covered it. Likewise, through Self-inquiry (ātma-vicāra) and the abandonment of accumulated saṁskāras (mental impressions), the ever-present Self shines naturally.

In answer to the final question—how to attain liberation—Ramana reveals the essence of his entire teaching: liberation is not something to be achieved, because it is our very nature. The very longing for freedom arises only because, in fact, we are already free. All that is required is the removal of ignorance—the mistaken notion that we are bound. When this illusion dissolves, only silence, peace, and effortless being remain. As long as liberation is sought as something separate from oneself, bondage persists. When seeker and sought dissolve into the same Consciousness, only the eternal Self remains—One without a second.

This teaching dissolves the illusion of separation and invites the listener to turn inward—not to reach for something new, but to recognize the unbroken Presence that has always existed. In the Silence of this recognition, all questions cease.

Below some very important books by Rāmaṇa Maharshi for you to learn about:

Sri Ramana Maharshi
https://amzn.to/3mWjYA1

Be As You Are: The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi (Arkana S.)
https://amzn.to/3YL0Ku9

Who Am I? (English Edition)
https://amzn.to/3YL0Ku9

Ramana Maharshi and the path of self-knowledge
https://amzn.to/42dwDP6

Maharshi's Gospel
https://amzn.to/3FqpjFW

'I' is a Door: The essence of Advaita as taught by Ramana Maharshi, Atmananda & Nisargadatta Maharaj
https://amzn.to/42a3dl3

Uniqueness of Sri Ramana Maharshi
https://amzn.to/3yEqca2

Ramana Maharshi: His Life
https://amzn.to/3YOXFcG

Face to Face with Sri Ramana Maharshi
https://amzn.to/3lgZ6mt

The Core Teachings of Ramana Maharshi
https://amzn.to/3LreWFY

Sri Ramana Maharshi
https://amzn.to/42gVPEw

Bhagavan: Remembrances of Our Days with Ramana Maharshi
https://amzn.to/3TigZ0F

The Children of Nature: The Life and Legacy of Ramana Maharshi
https://amzn.to/3FqaXWa

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