The works of Ramaṇa Maharṣi

Upadeśa Undiyār

Verse 18

எண்ணங்க ளேமனம் யாவினு நானெனுமெண்ணமே மூலமா முந்தீபறயானா மனமென லுந்தீபற

எண்ணங்களே மனம் யாவினும் நான் எனும் எண்ணமே மூலம் ஆம் உந்தீபற யானாம் மனம் எனல் உந்தீபற

In plain words

There is no mind. There are thoughts, and 'mind' is the word we use for the crowd of them. And in that crowd one thought came first, and every other one is leaning on it: the thought 'I'. Not you. A thought — that says 'I'. So when you say 'my mind', what you are pointing at is that single thought, wearing all the others as clothes.

Word for word

Thoughts alone are the mind. Among them all, the thought 'I' is the root. Fly up, undī! What is called mind is the 'I'. Fly up, undī!