"Helen of Troy"
Helen of Troy and Other Poems (1911)
“The mind will subside only by means of the enquiry 'Who am I?'. The thought 'Who am I?', destroying all other thoughts, will itself finally be destroyed like the stick used for stirring the funeral pyre.”
Nan Yar = Who am I?
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Ramana Maharshi 75
Indian religious leader 1879–1950Related quotes
As quoted in Hitler and Nazism (1961) by Louis Leo Snyder, p. 66
Other remarks
“Women are the only people I am afraid of who I never thought would hurt me”
Variant: A woman is the only thing I am afraid of that I know will not hurt me.
“I [who] am perpetually making notes in the margin of my mind for some final statement…”
Voice: Young Man
1840s, Repetition (1843)
Context: One sticks one’s finger into the soil to tell by the smell in what land one is: I stick my finger in existence — it smells of nothing. Where am I? Who am I? How came I here? What is this thing called the world? What does this world mean? Who is it that has lured me into the world? Why was I not consulted, why not made acquainted with its manners and customs instead of throwing me into the ranks, as if I had been bought by a kidnapper, a dealer in souls? How did I obtain an interest in this big enterprise they call reality? Why should I have an interest in it? Is it not a voluntary concern? And if I am to be compelled to take part in it, where is the director? I should like to make a remark to him. Is there no director? Whither shall I turn with my complaint?