Guru & Devotion -- Robert Adams

[Guest guest]

Note: Robert Adams, the man quoted below, had his initial

fundamental awakening in his early-to-mid teens, and deepened it in

the company of a variety of teachers thereafter, including that of

the great Ramana himself. He wasn't someone who set himself up as a

guru-- rather, that role just seemed to fall into his lap as the

result of the attention his very being attracted.

 

So here is someone who recognized the role of devotion to the guru,

yet was not himself someone who (from all evidence, anyway) exploited

such devotion on the part of his students, or submitted to a teacher

who did the same. As a particularly relevant section of the text

quoted above states, "If anyone doesn't feel right about this, tell

me. This is why these things are not discussed. I did discuss this

with Ramana Maharshi and he agreed with me one hundred percent. But

he also added, "This method is only good for ripe devotees.""

 

 

 

The average meditator has to find a Satguru, an enlightened one who

has passed that stage and the enlightened one can give them Grace, so

that they may transcend the nirvikalpa samadhi and go into sahaja

samadhi, which is becoming normal again but always in a state of

bliss, transcending the world, being in a permanent state of

liberation and yet back to your normal self. By normal self, I mean

you begin to function like everybody else in the world, but deep

inside you are not of this world. You have become totally liberated.

You have become Absolute Reality, Pure Awareness. You have become all-

pervading. You have become totally free.

 

Many people ask me again and again, "Robert, what is the fastest way

to get there?" Many teachings are given to the person. Usually when

I'm with someone I am able to see how far they've gone in their

spiritual unfoldment and they proceed accordingly. Yet there is one

way that is above all ways. There is one way to get there faster than

any other way you could possibly have. And I usually share this only

with intimate devotees. The reason for this is because others will

take it the wrong way. Those that are not prepared to hear this, it's

like hitting a nerve. Some people even become upset over it. Yet I

feel tonight that everyone here is very sincere about their spiritual

life, so I'll share this with you. And it's very simple. It is beyond

Self-inquiry, it is beyond becoming the observer, and it is this:

being of service to the guru. How does this strike you?

 

Why? Jay knows why. Why, Jay?

 

I don't know.

 

You know. When you are of service to the guru, you are of service to

the Self. There is only one Self. Therefore, you are of service to

your Self. There is only one Self. Therefore, you are of service to

your Self. There are not two entities, the guru and the disciple. You

begin to become the Self, for you are serving the Self.

 

Every great sage has shared this secret with their closest devotee.

And it's not for everyone, especially in the West. I feel this

evening that I should share this with you.

 

What do you mean by service?

 

Treat the teacher as you would treat yourself. In other words, you

find no difference. The guru becomes yourself, your lover, your

mother, your father. Your Self. When you think of yourself, you want

the best for yourself. So when you think of your teacher, you want

the best for your teacher. There are no longer two of you. There's

only one. This is why many devotees of Ramana Maharshi became Ramana

Maharshi. They acted like him, they spoke like him, they had all his

mannerisms. They became liberated. Because there's only one

liberator, and that is the Self.

 

So many of you have asked me the fastest way to get there; I have

revealed it. Again, I think this is very important. Therefore if you

have any questions, feel free to ask.

 

Well, if I'm with Ramana, how am I going to give service to him and

be as he is, when it's my interpretation of what he is, my perception

of what he is?

 

You have to surrender completely. That's the first thing you do, you

surrender all of your thoughts, all of your ambitions, all of your

doubts, all of your apprehensions, all of your being to the Self. You

become empty of all of your preconceived ideas, all of your concepts.

It's like taking a garbage pail and emptying it out, totally and

completely, of all of your preconceived ideas, everything you've ever

known and learned, giving it all to the Self.

 

Wouldn't service to any form of life, taken as the Self, be equally

effective, not just to a guru?

 

Not really, due to the fact that when you are of service to a tree

and you plant something around the tree and you take care of the

tree, you water the tree, you watch the tree grow beautifully. The

tree is not activated to give Grace. Only a Self-realized being can

give Grace. Therefore when you are giving to humanity, to nature, it

is only an aspect of Consciousness. But when you give and surrender

to a Satguru or to the Self. Then the return comes forth quickly. The

Grace comes forth quickly. Again, only when you think of a Self-

realized sage, can the Grace come forth so that you become like the

sage.

 

Didn't Ramana talk about the sage Donatrea – that he had twenty-four

masters, and I think that included inanimate objects?

 

Dattatreya. Yes, I know who you are referring to. This is quite true.

But as I said before, this is very rare, just like Ramana became Self-

realized by himself, and he didn't do anything. But this is very

rare. That's why it's dangerous to read books about sages like

Dattatreya, especially for Westerners. Because it tells you in the

book, like you just said, he surrendered to the trees, to the rivers,

to the mountain, to the twenty-four elements, and he became

liberated. This is all good and well for him, but how about you?

These are very rare beings. Try to remember again, the only reason

I'm sharing this with you is because so many of you call me and tell

me, "I've been practicing for years, I've been practicing Self-

inquiry till it's coming out of my nose, and nothing is happening."

Let me tell you again, that practicing Self-inquiry is an excellent

practice. If you forget about time and practice, it will take you to

the goal eventually. But the fastest way to get there in this life is

total service and surrender to the Self. If anyone doesn't feel right

about this, tell me. This is why these things are not discussed. I

did discuss this with Ramana Maharshi and he agreed with me one

hundred percent. But he also added, "This method is only good for

ripe devotees."

 

So, what do you think? I'm not saying this to you for myself. This is

why sometimes it is dangerous for me to say things like this. Don't

get the wrong idea. I'm really no one important. I'm just revealing

the truth to you. You can take it however you like. And I'm only

doing this because so many of you have asked me to tell you. And I

think this class is ripe for me to share this with you.

 

Robert, does Self-inquiry lead to the possibility of the person being

able to surrender completely to the guru? Because I, at this point,

feel that it's so far beyond me; I'm so selfish and so unwilling to

give up so many things.

 

Thank you for being truthful. Most Westerners are like that. They

have not been brought up with that king of understanding. The ego is

very big in most Westerners. And I don't even like to talk about

things like this. As I mentioned before, it hits a nerve when I talk

about things like this. It is only for the few people who are ready

to go all the way and become totally liberated in this life.

 

Robert, if I want to let go of my little mind, I guess you've shown

me a doorway of surrendering my mind to the Self-realized person.

I've got to be willing to either trust or take a chance, because you

know there are always people talking about meeting gurus who turn out

to be untrustworthy. So, you've given me a kick in the pants that I

think is good. And I may not serve you, because if all these other

fifty-five people here start serving you, there won't be any spot for

me, so I've got to find somebody else. (laughter)

 

I'm not particularly saying to you to serve me at all. I am telling

you to serve your Self.

 

I understand, but it tricks me into serving the Self.

 

There is only one Self. That Self is the tree, the mountain, but it

does not give Grace.

 

Yes, that was a good explanation. Because I wondered about that very

thing, and you really explained it well for me. The difference is the

Grace.

 

Most of you were ready for this. That's the reason I shared this with

you.

 

Need for a Living Guru

 

Does the guru have to be in the body? When having Ramana as a guru…

 

If you really want to make headway fast, follow one direction. Go one

way. You may find many contradictions when you read so many books,

and you'll become confused and even disgusted. To give you an

example. The book by Lakshman Swami, No Mind, I am the Self. Many of

you have read this, and you're so excited over that book that I read

it, also. I usually don't read books. But I realize the

contradictions, and for a person trying to awaken, the contradictions

can hurt. It can set you back. For you do not understand. I'll

explain one of the contradictions.

 

Lakshman Swami claims that the only way you can become enlightened is

through a living guru. And if the guru passes away, you should find

another guru, because that guru is no longer any good for you. It's

got to be a living form. To an extent this is true. Yet if you read

Ramana's books, Ramana Maharshi tells you, it is better to have a

mental guru when your guru passes away. So they asked him, "When you

die or give up your body Ramana, shall I find another guru?" And he

said, "Just think of me. If you think of me, I will always be with

you. I will never leave you if you think of me. For after all, the

sage is not the body. So what difference does it make if there is a

body or not?"

 

That appears as a contradiction, doesn't it? Yet, it's really not.

You have to understand where they're coming from.

 

Lakshman Swami was talking to neophytes when he made that statement –

beginners. People who really never practiced. So people who have

never practiced or practiced little, are not really devotees.

Therefore is the average person found a Satguru, and in a month the

Satguru gave up his body and left, they wouldn't really get any

benefit from that Satguru because they were not in tune with him for

a long time. For them it's better to have a living guru, so that the

living guru can teach them. But for the devotees, they need not a

living guru. The guru that they've been with will take care of all

their needs. For their guru can never leave them. After all, the guru

and the Self are one, there's no difference. So you can see there

appears to be a contradiction, but there's not a contradiction. It

depends who he was talking to. So when you read the books, it becomes

confusing for you. If you stick to the transcripts, you'll be safe,

and you will make headway. Those three things I outlined for you are

very important. Sadhana, satsang, and the transcripts. It's easy.

Remember those three things. Try to be at Satsang all the time, work

on your sadhana or Self-inquiry, or whatever you have to do, and keep

reading the transcripts.

 

 

[...]Now a "devotee" is completely different. A devotee has found the

path he was looking for and the teacher he wants, so he becomes the

path. He becomes the teaching. He takes care of the particular path

he is on. It becomes a reciprocal thing. A devotee realizes the

teacher of his path has given up everything to reach the path, so he

takes care of the teacher's needs and devotes himself to that path.

What happens to that kind of devotee? Pretty soon he merges with the

teacher's consciousness. He becomes realized. That's the basic

difference between the seeker, disciple, and the devotee. Any

questions about anything?...

 

I think what is arising within me and what bothered me for a while is

that (another teacher) teaches that all you need to do is to believe

you are not a "me." Teachings themselves will perform their work even

though you still feel like a "me." He will say you should believe you

are Krishna and deny that you are Arjuna even while you still feel

like you are Arjuna.

 

He has a point to an extent. It is like a razor's edge. I don't like

to say that. It gives new people license to do what they like, to

become arrogant and belligerent, to say: "I am total awareness,

nothing matters." I have seen many people with those attitudes who

were just beginners. So you have to be careful, and this is why

Ramana Maharshi was so wise. He taught two ways. One of bhakti. Self-

surrender, and one of Atma-Vichara. Maybe both were correct, but to

identify with the Self is sometimes not easy. So you have to practice

certain disciplines or meditations or surrendering yourself to God.

This will make you humble, it will give you humility, and will

automatically lead to Atma Vichara, Self-inquiry. Then everything

will happen of its own accord. We have to be very careful especially

with Westerners, not to believe "I am Consciousness" or "I am God"

and "I am Ultimate Oneness." We realize that this is the Ultimate

Truth about ourselves. But then watch yourself, your actions, see

what you are talking about. Do not use truth to cover up your

weakness. For example, if you were a drug user, it is true that if

you come to Satsang, and you understand Reality, eventually you will

stop using drugs. But in the meantime, do the best you can,

physically, mentally, and otherwise to stop the habit. It is

preordained anyway, but do the best you can. As you follow the

teachings, everything will take care of itself.

[Guest guest]

There are no longer two of you. There's only one. This is why many

devotees of Ramana Maharshi became Ramana Maharshi. They acted like

him, they spoke like him, they had all his mannerisms. They became

liberated. Because there's only one liberator, and that is the Self.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

But the goal of liberation is not to become the Guru, but to become

whomever the greater self (or selfless person) that you were destined

to be.

When people spend time with others who speak a particular way, they

absorb these same manners of speech. Valley girls all sound like

valley girls, because of this immersion. Body language and gestures

are part of this subtle mimicry--and no, I am not suggesting that

others consciously seek to mimic--in fact, often they struggle

against it, powerless to stop the effect. It is a form of

entrainment. That is why one Guru with just one devotee does not

cast such a great shadow. But hold a Darshan or gathering with a

hundred or a thousand devotees and suddenly the Guru becomes Mahat

Guru...the effect of so many, already entrained, in harmony, voicing

the same Mantra or prayer in unison--this is a powerful and amazing

effect. I know this. Feeling such a whirlwind force of love,

peaceful intention and apparent unity is a transforming experience.

I am not suggesting the experience is "bad." I think the experience

is "good." But, it must be placed into context and the effect is

just effect if we do not take with it the greater enlightenment that

it was meant to engender.

The spotlight is ever on the Divine

Not on the one who holds the spotlight

Not on those who bask in the glow...

And upon truly seeing the Divine

Then you know what you must do in life

Your purpose becomes instantly clear...

To love, yes!

To while away the hours in self delighting bliss--

NO!

The bliss returns when the bliss is shared...

One must make rice cakes from the single grain

And let others taste

The foods of Heaven...

Blessings

Love,

Zenbob