Arunaachala. अरुणाचल-5-The SAD-GURU.

~~~~Arunaachala.अरुणाचल - 5~~~~
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~~~~~The SAD-GURU (सद्गुरु)~~~~~

Devotee.- You have else-where stated that without the grace
of the Sad-Guru one cannot get at the Self. What precisely do
you mean by this ? What is this Guru ?
Maharshi.-Fro the standpoint of the path of knowledge it is
the supreme state of the Self, which is the Sad-Guru.It is
different from the ego-self, which you call your self.
Devotee.- Then if it is the supreme state of my own self, in
what sense do you mean that I cannot reach it without the
grace of the Sad-Guru ?
Maharshi.- The ego-self is the Jeeva (जीव). It is different 
from the Lord of all -'Sarveshwara', (सर्वेश्वर). When through
dis-interested devotion, i.e. Nishkaama-Bhakti (निष्काम-भक्ति),
the Jeeva approaches the Lord, He graciously assumes name
and form and takes the Jeeva into Himself. ..........Therefore,
they say the Guru is none other than the Lord. He is a human
embodiment of the Divine Grace. :
''ज्ञानी तु आत्मैव मे मतं .... ''
says the Gita (chapter-7,sloka-18.). 
The real Guru is God Himself. Who can doubt this ?
Devotee.- But there are some who seem to have had no human
Guru at all.
Maharshi.- True. In the case of certain great souls God reveals
Himself as the Light of their light from within.
Devotee.- Then what is true devotion -Bhakti (भक्ति) ?
Maharshi.- Whatever I do or consider myself doing is really the
Lord's doing. Nothing really belongs to me. This spirit of service
Arul Uruvam ( அருள் உருவம்) , is really devotion supreme,
and the true devotee sees the Supreme Being as the Lord immanent
in everything. Worship of Him by name and form leads one beyond
all name and form. Devotion complete culminates in knowledge-
supreme.
Even when Bhakti (भक्ति, -devotion) is actuated by worldly desires
in the beginning, it does not cease when the desires are fulfilled. It
increases by an unshakable faith growing perfectly into a supreme
state of realization.
Devotee.- Then what is the path of Jnaana (ज्ञान) ?
Maharshi.- Stripped of the ego he establishes himself naturally in
supreme Self-awareness.
Devotee.- How can we say that both Bhakti (भक्ति) and Jnaana 
(ज्ञान) lead to the same goal ?
Maharshi.- Why not ? Both paths lead you to a state of supreme
Peace (Maunam, -मौनं ) that passeth all understanding.
(Note : - All must accept that there is a Lord of all the Jeeves.
One can quite well take this as the truth, if one earnestly wishes
to reach the Sayujya state (सायुज्य-दशा) that is, the State of 
conscious union. Cf. Instructions to Natanananda Swami.)

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Arunachala. अरुणाचल-4. Vichaara and the Grace.

~~~~Arunachala. अरुणाचल-4.~~~~
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~~~~~Vichaara and the Grace~~~~~
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(विचार and अनुग्रह )~~~~~~


Devotee.- Then I can dispense with outside help and by mine
own effort get into the deeper truth by myself.
Maharshi.- True. But the very fact that you are possessed of 
the quest of the Self is a manifestation of the Divine Grace :
Arul. It is effulgent in the Heart, the inner being, the Real Self. 
It draws you from within. You have to attempt to get in from
without. Your attempt is Vichaara (earnest quest), the deep inner
movement is Grace : Arul. That is why I say there is no real
Vichaara without Grace, nor is there Grace active for him who 
is without Vichaara. Both are necessary.


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Arunachala. अरुणाचल-३. Rejection of Thoughts.

~~Arunachala. अरुणाचल-३.~~
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~~Rejection of Thoughts.~~
-------(वृत्ति-निरसन) ------

Devotee.- But you have often said that one must reject 
other thoughts when he begins the quest, but the thoughts
are endless; if one thought is rejected, another comes and
there seems to be no end at all.
Maharshi.- I do not say that you must go on rejecting
thoughts. If you cling to yourself, say the I-thought, and
when your interest keeps you to that single idea, other
thoughts get rejected, automatically they vanish.
Devotee.- And so rejection of thoughts is not necessary ?
Maharshi.- No. It may be necessary for a time or for some
time. You fancy that there is no end if one goes on rejecting
every thought when it rises. No. There is end. If you are
vigilant, and make a stern effort to reject every thought when
it rises, you will soon find that you are going deeper and
deeper into your own self, where there is no need for your
effort to reject the thoughts.
Devotee.- Then it is possible to be without effort, without
strain !

Maharshi.- Not only that, it is impossible for you to make

an effort beyond a certain extent.

Devotee.- I want to be further enlightened. Should I try to
make no effort at all ?
Maharshi.- Here it is impossible for you to be without effort.
When you go deeper, it is impossible for you to make any effort.

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Arunachala. अरुणाचल.-2.-Initial Doubts.

~~~~~~Arunachala. अरुणाचल.-2.~~~~~
~~~~~~~~Initial Doubts.~~~~~~~~~~~

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---------THE TALKS -----------------

   

          Initial Doubts.

Devotee.- You say one can realize the self by a search

for it. What is the character of this search ?

Maharshi.-You are the mind or think that you are the mind. 

The mind is nothing but thoughts. Now behind every

 particular thought there is a general thought which is the 

“I”, that is yourself. Let us call this “I” the first thought. Stick

to this I-thought and question it to find out what it is . When 

this question takes strong hold on you, you cannot think

of other thoughts.

Devotee.-When I do like this and cling to myself, i.e. the

I-thought, other thoughts do come and go, but I say to 

myself “Who am I” and there is no answer forthcoming. 

To be in this condition is Sadhana. Is it so ?

Mahrshi.- This is a mistake that people often make. What

happens when you make a serious quest for the self is that 

the I-thought as thought disappears, something else from

the depths takes hold of you and that is not the ‘I’ which 

commenced the quest.

Devotee.-What is this something else ?

Maharshi.-That is the real Self, the import of I. It is not the

ego. It is the Supreme Being itself.

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Continued........

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ARUNACHALA.अरुणाचल

~~~~~ARUNACHALAअरुणाचल~~~~~
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From :

Sat-Darshana Bhashya

        And

Talks with Maharshi

(Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi.)

By “K”.

The “Talks with Sri Maharshi “ are mainly selected from conversations that D  has had with Him since 1912. Some of these were later incorporated into the Ramana Geeta  and one or two booklets. These talks are given with a view to introduce the general reader to the main work, the philosophy of Sat-Darshan. The conversations with Sri Maharshi   have been generally in Tamil, intermixed with a few English and Sanskrit words. We do not say ‘you’ in talking to Him, nor does He refer to Himself as ‘I’. They are used here for the purpose of the English version. The name of D  is not mentioned as it it is considered unnecessary for the purpose of the subject.

A R U N A C H A L A.

 Let us open the “Talks” with prayer to the Divine Lord, Arunachala, (the glowing Peak of Light) hymned by the great seer (Sri Maharshi) in Aksharamanamalai. The chosen one :

“Cast Thy glance, fix Thine attention, give the touch, ripen me for the Grace of Thy Rule.”

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“To be silent like a stone without blossoming-can it be Silence true, my Lord ?”

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“I thought of Thee and was caught in Thy grace; and like the spider in his web, didst Thou keep me captive to take me at Thine hour.”

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“Like the bee Thou stoodest face to face uttering : Ah, thou art not yet in bloom.”

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“Take me into union : or I must perish with my body melted into water in the river of tears”.

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“Speechless Thou didst utter : ‘stay there mute’ and Silence Thou wert”.

“In the Heart is the Conscious Light, the one Real; That art Thou.”

Not apart from Thee is there a marvelous Power !

Of this, an atom, prolific of shade-with awareness endued,

Itself, in the whirl of the unceasing present, is formed in the mirror of its own Thought-light.

Thus the Atom’s image is the wonderous world within;

And so is the outer world of sense.

O, Hill of Grace, on Thee the canvas, yet no separate from Thee,

Falls and glides the moving shade through mind the lens; but unmoved Thou art there”