'I' is a Door: The essence of Advaita as taught by Ramana Maharshi, Atmananda & Nisargadatta Maharaj

by Philip Renard

Such a way of expressing is not very customary in a monotheistic religion. The shift from the Supreme Being, via an identical name, to me, a mortal being, is not customary. Usually, a distance, a gap is maintained. The Ultimate is immense and I am small. That’s why speaking about the Ultimate in first person grammar, literally ‘I’, is in general not customary in religion. No, it is common to speak in third person, usually ‘He’; which means a speaking about Him. If texts are put in the second person, phrasing a dialogue, for instance the book of Job, they are already conspicuous. The language is somewhat more direct.6 The reader may feel more involved.