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A
Haven for Seekers
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There
are so many spiritual centers in India that
not only the foreign seeker but even the
Indian devotee may well be excused for wondering
which one to visit. Each place has its own
specific character, so that while one meets
the need of one person, another provides
a haven to someone else.
First of all comes the question of the aim
of a spiritual center, because this decides
the sort of person who is likely to be attracted
to it. The Maharshi was clearly and solely
concerned with guiding people towards Liberation
or Self-realization, that is to Moksha.
But is this not the case
with every |
Ashram
and holy place? Perhaps not. There are places
where people go to pray for a son or a job,
to win a lawsuit or pass an examination,
to obtain release from sickness or misfortune.
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We cannot say
that no such prayers are ever answered at Ramanasramam,
but the Maharshi did not encourage such motives
in those who came to him. Rather, he tried to
awaken in them the realization that they were
not the suffering body but the eternally blissful
Self and thereby to give them serenity even
in misfortune. There are also places where people
go hoping to develop powers, obtain visions
of the deity, read men’s thoughts, cure
sickness, and so forth. To all such aspirants
the Maharshi was even more discouraging. Not
only do such powers not lead to Liberation,
but they can actually become an impediment to
it, since men may become just as attached to
them as to worldly wealth and power.
All this implies that Ramanasramam is not a
place visited by large crowds in search of transient
gain. Rather, it is a place for the serious
aspirant who understands that Liberation is
the supreme goal and who seeks the grace and
support of the Master to guide him on his way.
Even if the goal is agreed upon, there are various
paths or disciplines to be followed. The Maharshi
taught the path of Self-enquiry of ‘Who
am I?’. This is not an investigation made
by the mind, conscious or sub-conscious, but
rather a search for the radiant reality which
underlies the mind. Therefore he said, “There
can be no answer to the question ‘Who
am I?’; whatever answer the mind gives
must be wrong.” The answer comes as an
awakening of pure Being, Consciousness and Bliss--a
current of awareness in the heart.
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