Laurence Freeman on Medium, 4 August 2025
Meditation and friendship have much in common. Meditation opens us to the deeper levels of friendship. Friendship nurtured by meditating together is delightful and transcendent. Each leads us into self-knowledge. This knowledge is always mysterious and much more than merely solving a problem or answering a question.
‘Who am I?’ is a lifelong question and becomes more central and liberating as we enter its influence. Because it such a serious question, we must approach it with a good degree of humour.
I love Ramana Maharshi’s saying that ‘the sparkling of truth devoid of ‘I’ is the greatest austerity.’ The word ‘austerity’ first took me by surprise but what a revelation it brings.
Excerpt From The Teachings of Sri Ramana Maharshi in His Own Words Ramana Maharshi, edited by ARTHUR OSBORNE, SRI RAMANASRAMAM, Tiruvannamalai 2002
D.: How can one know the Self?
B.: The Self always is. There is no knowing it. It is not some new knowledge to be acquired. What is new and not here and now cannot be permanent. The Self always is, but knowledge of it is obstructed and the obstruction is called ignorance. Remove the ignorance and knowledge shines forth. In fact, it is not the Self that has this ignorance or even knowledge. These are only accretions to be cleared away. That is why the Self is said to be beyond knowledge and ignorance. It remains as it naturally is – that is all.
