Know first that 'I' and then you will know everything.

Also of importance is the fact that from the beginning Humphreys felt he was a disciple of Ramana. To quote him, "In a few sentences of broken English and in Telugu, he conveyed worlds of meaning and taught me direct, and made me his chela." In the spiritual field where attitude is so important for leaming, the reverential and fresh approach of Humphreys has given us much material of great value. Humphreys was barely twenty-one at the time he came to Ramana. So we notice an uninhibited spontaneity in his interviews with Ramana, and a special charm in the way Ramana clarified his doubts.

Some points stand out, such as Ramana's remarks:

"Help yourself, you will help the world";

"No master ever cared a rap for occult powers for he has no need for them in his daily life";

"From now onwards let your whole thought in meditation be not on the act of seeing nor on what you see, but immovably on That which sees";

"The Master cannot help being perpetually in the state of Being. He can use the mind, body and intellect without falling back into the delusion of separate consciousness";

"God is everything and everything is God";

"How can you best worship God? Why, by not trying to worship Him but by giving up your whole self to Him";

"You say 'I', 'I want to know'. Tell me who is that 'I'. Know first that 'I' and then you will know everything".

The teaching is always clear and precise, for Humphreys was ripe and ready to receive it.

We also owe to Humphreys some very beautiful descriptions of Ramana in such choice expressions: "For half an hour I looked him in the eyes, which never changed their expression of deep contemplation ... I could only feel that his body was not the man. He was merely a sitting, motionless corpse from which God was radiating terrifically ... You can imagine nothing more beautiful than his smile."

~ A. R. Natarajan, "F. H. Humphreys -- The First Western Seeker," The Mountain Path, Volume 29, Nos 3 & 4, December 1992