THE NATURE OF THE 'AHAM VRITTI' OR 'I' THOUGHT

The mind is merely thoughts. Of all thoughts, the thought “I” is the root. (Therefore) the mind is only the thought “I.” (Ramana Maharshi, Who Am I)

Of all the thoughts that arise in the mind, the “I” thought is the first. It is only after the rise of this, that the other thoughts arise. It is after the appearance of the first personal pronoun that the second and third personal pronouns appear; without the first personal pronoun there will not be the second and third. (Ramana Maharshi, Who Am I))

The ego is described as having three bodies, the gross, the subtle and the casual, but that is only for the purposes of analytical exposition. If the method of enquiry were to depend on the ego's form, you may take it that any enquiry would become altogether impossible, because the forms the ego may assume are legion. Therefore, for purposes of Jnana-vichara, you have to proceed on the basis that the ego has but one form, namely that of Aham-vritti. (Ramana Maharshi, Maharshi's Gospel)

To say “I am not this” or “I am that” there must be the “I.” This “I” is only the ego or the “I”-thought. After the rising up of this “I”-thought all other thoughts arise. The “I”-thought is therefore the root-thought. If the root is pulled out all others are at the same time uprooted. Therefore seek the root “I,” question yourself "Who am I?”; find out its source. Then all these will vanish and the pure Self will remain ever. (Ramana Maharshi, Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi)

Thoughts alone constitute the mind; and for all thoughts the base or source is the “I” thought. “I” is the mind. If we go inward questing for the source of the “I,” the “I” topples down. This is the jnana enquiry. (Ramana Maharshi, Gems from Bhagavan)

The ego’s phenomenal existence is transcended when you dive into the Source wherefrom arises the Aham vritti. (Ramana Maharshi, Maharshi's Gospel)

The word “Aham “ is itself very suggestive. The two letters of the word, namely (A) and (HA), are the first and the last letters of the Sanskrit alphabet. The suggestion intended to be conveyed by the word is that it comprises all. How? Because Aham signifies existence itself.

Although the concept of “I”-ness or “I-am”-ness is by usage known as Aham-vritti , it is not really a vritti like the other vrittis of the mind. Because unlike the other vrittis which have no essential inter-relation, the Aham-vritti is equally and essentially related to each and every vritti of the mind. Without the Aham-vritti there can be no other vritti, but the Aham-vritti can subsist by itself without depending on any other vritti of the mind. The Aham-vritti is therefore fundamentally different from other vrittis.

So then, the search for the Source of the Aham-vritti is not merely the search for the basis of one of the forms of the ego but for the very Source itself from which arises the “I-am”-ness. In other words, the quest for and the realization of the Source of the ego in the form of Aham-vritti necessarily implies the transcendence of the ego in every one of its possible forms. (Ramana Maharshi, Maharshi's Gospel)