English Scholar’s Questions
Mr. W. Y. Evans-Wentz, an English research scholar of Oxford University, brought a letter of introduction from Mr. Brunton and arrived on a visit.
He was tired after his journey and required rest. He is quite accustomed to Indian ways of living, having visited this country several times. He has learned the Tibetan language and helped in the translation of the “Book of the Dead” and the “Life of Milarepa”, the greatest of Tibetan Yogis, and a third book on the “Tibetan Secret Doctrines.”
In the afternoon, he began to ask a few questions. They related to Yoga. He wanted to know if it was right to kill animals such as tigers, deer, etc., and use the skin for Yoga posture (asana).
M.: The mind is the tiger or the deer.
D.: If everything be illusion, then one can take lives?
M.: To whom is illusion? Find that out! In fact everyone is a “killer of the Self” (atmahan) every moment of his life.
D.: Which posture (asana) is the best?
M.: Any asana, possibly ‘sukha asana’ (easy, comfortable posture or position). But that is immaterial for jnana, the Path of Knowledge.
D.: Does posture indicate the temperament?
M.: Yes.
D.: What are the properties and effects of the tiger’s skin, wool, or deer-skin, etc.?
M.: Some have found them out and related them in Yoga books. They correspond to conductors and non-conductors of magnetism, etc. But it is all immaterial for the Path of Knowledge (Jnana Marga). Posture really means location and steadfastness in the Self. It is internal. The others refer to external positions.
Talks With Ramana Maharshi – Part 1
January 24, 1935
Talk 17.
