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The Path
of Self-Knowledge |
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This
is the path of pure jnana, but the Maharshi
also taught the path of bhakti. He often
said: “There are two ways: ask yourself
‘Who am I?’ or submit.”
A philosopher could easily argue that these
two paths are mutually exclusive. If one
seeks to realize his identity with the One
Universal Self, which is the Absolute, he
logically would not worship a personal God
or Guru at the same time. Logically not,
but in real life
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one
can, because one has different moods that
may be helped by different approaches to
spiritual practice. Therefore, in spite
of logic, the Maharshi said that the paths
of Jnana and Bhakti are not incompatible,
and devotees have found it so. It will be
seen in practice that both these paths are
direct, complementary inner disciplines,
independent of ritual; so here we have another
characteristic of Ramanasramam. Here one
finds a minimum of external discipline and
organization. People sit silently in the
Maharshi’s shrine or in the hall where
he sat for so many years with his devotees.
They walk on the sacred mountain, Arunachala,
or sit quietly in their rooms. They arrange
to take their meals at the Ashram or prepare
their own food, as they choose. Rules and
regulations are kept to a minimum, allowing
each to follow the inner leadings of the
Marharshi’s silent instruction. This,
however, does not imply laxity; the discipline
comes from within. The Vedas are chanted
in front of his shrine, morning and evening,
as they used to be in the Maharshi’s
presence during his lifetime, but even for
this attendance is not compulsory. And those
who do attend sit together, shoulder to
shoulder, regardless of caste, religion
or nationality. |
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In
addition to jnana- and bhakti-margas, the Maharshi’s
path contains a strong element of karma-marga
as well, since he expects his devotees to practise
this teaching in the life of the world. Time and
time again some one would come to him and ask
his permission to renounce the world and he would
not grant it.
“Why do you think you are a grihastha (householder)?
If you go out as sannyasi (ascetic), a similar
thought that you are a sannyasi will haunt you.
Whether you continue in the household or renounce
it and go to the forest, your mind goes with you.
The ego is the source of all thought. It creates
the body and the world and makes you think you
are a grihastha . If you renounce the world it
will only substitute the thought sannyasi for
grihastha and the environments in the forest for
those of the household. But the mental obstacles
will still be there. They even increase in the
new surroundings. There is no help in change of
environment. The obstacle is the mind. It must
be got over whether at home or in the forest.
If you can do it in the forest, why not at home?
Therefore, why change your environment? Your efforts
can be made even now - in whatever environment
you are now. The environment will never change
according to your desire.”
How does this affect Ramanasramam? In the first
place, it means that there are relatively few
sadhus or sannyasins to be found there. Also,
not many of the Maharshi's devotees live there
permanently. Most of them pursue their professional
lives in the world, practicing their sadhana invisibly,
without external form or ritual, and only coming
to Tiruvannamalai from time to time to recharge
their batteries, so to speak. A doctor, an engineer,
a school teacher, a bank manager, an editor, a
cinema proprietor, and many others come to mind.
When it becomes appropriate for one of them to
retire from active life in the world and settle
down at Tiruvannamalai, circumstances become propitious.
It just happens so. Devotees tend to pledge their
lives to silent, unseen sadhana, while performing
their obligations in the world, and to seek the
Grace of the Maharshi and the power of his support
to aid them in doing so.
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Another
result of the essentially formless nature
of the Maharshi’s path is the large
proportion of foreigners both among visitors
and resident devotees. There is no need
to be a Hindu to follow the path prescribed
by the Maharshi. Anyone, whatever religion
he may profess, can practise Self-enquiry,
or can
worship and |
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surrender.
Therefore the Maharshi never expected any
of his devotees to change from one religion
to another. Christians, Muslims, Jews, Buddhists,
Parsis came to him, as well as Hindus. Some
continued to practise their religions, others
not; it was up to them. |
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Mr.
Evans-Wentz, the well-known writer on Tibetan
Buddhism, visited the Maharshi and asked
whether he recommended any special method
for Europeans, and the Maharshi replied:
“It depends on the mental equipment
of the individual. There are no hard and
fast rules.” Each aspirant was guided
according to his aptitude, not on the basis
of race, caste, sex or religion.
The Maharshi often reminded those who came
to him that they were not the body. While
following his Maha Samadhi some may have
presumed that he was no longer there, many
more have come to feel in their hearts the
power and subtlety of his guidance and the
vibrant, all-pervading peace of Arunachala,
the sacred mountain which he loved and revered
and at whose foot his Ashram is located.
The Maharshi used to say: “The purpose
of the outer Guru is only to awaken the
inner Guru in the heart.” And shortly
before leaving the body he told a group
of devotees: "When the Guru has awakened
the inner Guru in the heart of his devotees,
he is free to leave the body.”
Yes, it may be said, that is all very well
for those who were already his devotees
when he shed the body, but what about those
others who approach him now and feel the
need for an outer Guru?
It may be that in some cases he guides them
indirectly through those older disciples
in whom the inner Guru has been awakened.
Certainly, in many cases he does influence
them directly and powerfully with no need
of an intercessor or intermediary.
A visitor asked once whether contact with
the Guru would continue after the dissolution
of his physical body, and he replied: “The
Guru is not the physical form, so contact
will remain even after his physical form
vanishes.”
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If
it were asked how he could guide individuals
or perform any function after having
become One with the Absolute, the
answer is: in the first place he has
not ‘become’ One with
the Absolute but simply has realized
his preexisting and eternal Oneness.
In the second place, he had already
realized this Oneness while wearing
the body and was universal then, as
he is now. He himself told us that
death makes no difference to the Jnani.
The only way of understanding how
the Jnani, who is universal, can perform
an individual function is to become
one. Therefore, when people asked
him such |
questions
he would usually reply: “Never
mind about the Jnani; first find out
who you are.” |
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But
surely this continued guidance after
leaving the body is unusual. Yes,
it is unusual; but who is to bind
Divine Providence with regulations?
The formless path the Maharshi prescribed
can compensate for the modern difficulty
in finding adequate guidance within
the forms of any religion; similarly,
the invisible Guru may compensate
for any difficulty in finding a fully
potent living Guru on earth. Such
explanations are for those who like
to speculate; for those who are content
to strive on the path, guidance is
surely available.
The unseen nature of the Master’s
guidance also has an effect on his
Ashram. It means that most of those
who come, both from India and abroad,
are people who never saw the Maharshi
in his lifetime but have been drawn
to him in various ways since then.
The conclusion, then, is that for
a ritualist or strict formalist, for
those who crave material boons or
who seek visions or powers, there
are other places better suited than
Sri Ramanasramam. However, the seeker
who has understood the ultimate spiritual
goal of life to be Liberation, who
seeks Grace and guidance on the path
to the ultimate goal, will unfailingly
receive the potent, silent guidance
of the Maharshi at Sri Ramanasramam.
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