The Tenth Man
The story of the Tenth Man.
In Talk 63 of Talks with Ramana Maharshi, Bhagavan Ramana relates this story. He refers to this story in several other conversations. They are shown here at the end of this story.
This story or parable refers to a traditional story of a party of ten fools who were travelling together.
These ten fools had to cross a river. On reaching the other shore they wanted to check and see if all of them had reached the shore safely. Each one, in his turn, counted the number of people present, but he counted the nine others and forgot to count himself. So they all foolishly thought that the tenth man had drowned and never made it to the shore. So they began to lament and mourn him.
Just then a traveller came past and asked them what the matter was. The men explained. The traveller immediately understood the situation and their mistake.
In order to convince them that all ten of them were safe, the traveller made the ten men walk past him one by one, giving each one a blow as he passed and telling them to count the blows. They did so, and realized their mistake. Thus they knew the truth.
Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi used this parable to explain to the seekers that leaving the Self, they look everywhere else for the Truth. So they think that they are lost and so they lament, and ask others for guidance.
Here are some excerpts from Talks with Ramana Maharshi about the Tenth Man.
Talk 63.
Maharshi:
The Self remains ever the same, here and now. There is nothing more to be gained. Because the limitations have wrongly been assumed there is the need to transcend them. It is like the ten ignorant fools who forded a stream and on reaching the other shore counted themselves to be only nine.
Talk 199.
D.: From where did ignorance come?
M.: There is no such thing as ignorance. It never arises. Everyone is Knowledge itself. Only Knowledge does not shine easily. The dispelling of ignorance is Wisdom which always exists – e.g., the necklace remaining round the neck though supposed to have been lost; or each of the ten fools failing to count himself and counting only the others. To whom is knowledge or ignorance?
Talk 201.
The Parsi ladies asked for an illustration to explain why the Self, though ever-present and most intimate, is not being realized.
Maharshi cited the stories of (1) Svakanthabharanam katha – the story of the necklace, on the neck itself, not being detected; (2) Dasama – of the ten fools who counted only nine, each of them omitting to count himself; (3) the lion’s cub, brought up in a herd of goats; (4) Karna not knowing his real parentage and (5) the king’s son brought up in a low-class family.
Talk 499.
Maharshi: There is no jnana as it is commonly understood. The ordinary ideas of jnana and ajnana are only relative and false. They are not real and therefore not abiding. The true state is the non-dual Self. It is eternal and abides whether one is aware or not. It is like kanthabharana or the tenth man.
D.: Someone else points it out.
M.: That one is not external. You mistake the body for the Guru. But the Guru does not think himself so. He is the formless Self. That is within you; he appears without only to guide you.
Talk 627.
Maharshi:
To get rid of the restlessness caused by the world, one seeks the restlessness (activity) of being with the Guru, studying the sacred books and worshipping God with forms, and by these awakening is attained. What happens in the end? Karna was ever the son of Kunti. The tenth man was such all along. Rama was Vishnu all the time. Such is jnanam (realization). It is being aware of That which always is.
