self-surrender/The bargain of a life time

[Guest guest]

The following is one of my favorite stories about self-surrender, the Guru,

and Self-Realization.

 

Fellow devotees of the Sage of Arunachala, Sri Ramana Maharshi, will enjoy

it immensely.

 

Conversations with Ramana Maharshi were typically public and watched by

other devotees. The following dialogue between Sri Ramana and an unknown

visitor occurred at the Ashram and is recalled by a devotee. The man was in

depth of despair and at first Bhagwan seemed quite unsympathetic. The

visitor's conversation with the sage is quite remarkable and worth reading.

Selected portions presented from the Maharshi newsletters.

 

Harsha

 

The man started moaning and crying even more, as if his heart were breaking.

"All my hopes of salvation are gone. You were my last refuge and you say you

have nothing to do with me! To whom shall I turn now? What am I to do? To

whom am I to go?"

 

Bhagavan watched him for some time and said, "Am I your guru that I should

be responsible for your salvation? Have I ever said that I am your master?"

 

"If you are not my master, then who is? And who are you, if not my master?

You are my guru, you are my guardian angel, you will pity me and release me

from my sins!" He started sobbing and crying again.

 

We all sat silent, overcome with pity. Only Bhagavan looked alert and

matter-of-fact.

 

Bh: "If I am your guru, what are my fees? Surely you should pay me for my

services."

 

D: "But you won't take anything," cried the visitor. "What can I give you?"

 

Bh: "Did I ever say that I don't take anything? And did you ever ask me what

you can give me?"

 

D: "If you would take, then ask me. There is nothing I would not give you."

 

Bh: "All right. Now I am asking. Give me. What will you give me ?"

 

D: "Take anything, all is yours."

 

Bh: "Then give me all the good you have done in this world."

 

D: "What good could I have done? I have not a single virtue to my credit."

 

Bh: "You have promised to give. Now give. Don't talk of your credit. Just

give away all the good you have done in your past."

 

D: "Yes, I shall give. But how does one give? Tell me how the giving is done

and I shall give."

 

Bh: "Say like this: 'All the good I have done in the past I am giving away

entirely to my guru. Henceforth I have no merit from it nor have I any

concern with it.' Say it with your whole heart."

 

D: "All right, Swami, I am giving away to you all the good I have done so

far, if I have done any, and all its good effects. I am giving it to you

gladly, for you are my master and you are asking me to give it all away to

you."

 

Bh: "But this is not enough," said Bhagavan sternly.

 

D: "I gave you all I have and all you asked me to give. I have nothing more

to give."

 

Bh: "No, you have. Give me all your sins."

 

D: The man looked wildly at Bhagavan, terror stricken. "You do not know,

Swami, what you are asking for. If you knew, you would not ask me. If you

take over my sins, your body will rot and burn. You do not know me, you do

not know my sins. Please do not ask me for my sins." And he wept bitterly.

 

Bh: "I shall look after myself, don't you worry about me," said Bhagavan.

"All I want from you is your sins."

 

For a long time the bargain would not go through. The man refused to part

with his sins. But Bhagavan was adamant.

 

Bh: "Either give me your sins along with your merits, or keep both and don't

think of me as your master."

 

In the end the visitor's scruples broke down and he declared: "Whatever sins

I have done, they are no longer mine. All of them and their results, too,

belong to Ramana."

 

Bhagavan seemed to be satisfied. "From now on there is no good nor bad in

you. You are just pure. Go and do nothing, neither good nor bad. Remain

yourself, remain what you are."

 

A great peace fell over the man and over us all. No one knows what happened

to the fortunate visitor; he was never seen in the Ashrama again. He might

have been in no further need of coming.

 

/join

 

 

 

 

All paths go somewhere. No path goes nowhere. Paths, places, sights,

perceptions, and indeed all experiences arise from and exist in and subside

back into the Space of Awareness. Like waves rising are not different than

the ocean, all things arising from Awareness are of the nature of Awareness.

Awareness does not come and go but is always Present. It is Home. Home is

where the Heart Is. Jnanis know the Heart to be the Finality of Eternal

Being. A true devotee relishes in the Truth of Self-Knowledge, spontaneously

arising from within into It Self. Welcome all to a.

[Guest guest]

Hello Harsha:

 

I love this sharing. It seems so in line with something that is going

on in my life right now. I have a tendency to be disatisfied and

have been working on dropping attachments to desires. It came to me

one night that desires were not the problem it was my aversions that

were causing much of my lack of peace. So I switched gears and now

am working through the details of life that fall into my judgement of

aversion. Last night I had this dream in which I needed to clear my

throat and I spit on the floor of an ashram. Even in the dream I was

horrified that I would do something like that. There was this yogi

who saw me do this and told me how shocked he was and walked out of

the room. In the dream I realized that I did not spit with malice

and lightened up at which point the yogi walked back in laughing and

then smiled at me.

 

Thank you for what this mind sees as a story that is synchronized with

my own thoughts on this sunny Sunday. Truly the good, the bad are

only as different as a peach or plum.

 

Love,

Linda