'AHAM' ( I-AM-ness ) AND 'AHAM VRITTI' (EGO)
BHAGAVAN: Self-inquiry by following the clue of 'Aham-Vritti' is just like the dog tracing its master by his scent. The master may be at some distant, unknown place, but that does not at all stand in the way of the dog tracing him. The master’s scent is an infallible clue for the animal, and nothing else, such as the dress he wears, or his build and stature etc., counts. The dog holds on to that scent undistractedly while searching for him, and finally it succeeds in tracing him.
D: Conceding that the 'Aham-Vritti' essentially comprises all the forms of the ego, why should that vritti alone be chosen as the means for Self-inquiry?
M: Because it is the one 'irreducible datum' of your experience; because seeking its source is the only practicable course you can adopt to realize the Self. The ego is said to have a causal body, but how can you make it the subject of your investigation? When the ego adopts that form, you are immersed in the darkness of sleep.
D: But is not the ego in its subtle and causal forms too intangible to be tackled through the inquiry into the source of 'Aham-Vritti' conducted while the mind is awake?
M: No. The inquiry into the source of 'Aham-Vritti' touches the very existence of the ego. Therefore the subtlety of the ego’s form is not a material consideration.
-RAMANA MAHARSHI
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