File - Effort, Grace, and Guru

[Guest guest]

Sri Ramana used to say that either one has to enquire steadfastly about the

arising of the aham vritti (the "I" thought--the feeling awareness of I AM) or

surrender entirely to the Guru that is one's own Self, the very Heart of one's

existence. In either approach, the ego, the sense of identity, the "I" ness

merges in the Heart and the Self.

 

Bhagavan often made the point that one cannot go beyond a certain point with

effort alone and that Grace is needed. When asked, how could one obtain Grace,

Sri Ramana would say that Grace is ever-existent and always there. One only

needed to be aware of It. That is why Ramana Maharshi often brought attention to

the Heart, The Core of Being, and that the Self is Always Realized, and that the

Grace is always there.

 

So one makes the sincere effort, and then Grace takes over, some Power, the

Power of the Self---that takes the mind and merges it into the Heart.

 

The Heart is the magnet. The words of the Guru are Grace because they make the

devotee aware of the Heart that is Self. When meditation is ripe, and all the

effort that is possible has been made, through Grace, mind and Shakti are drawn

to the Heart, and the Heart swallows up everything. That is the Supreme Silence

beyond time and space. It has absolutely no support and depends on nothing. It

is the Self-Existence, the Sat-Chit-Ananda, the One without a second mentioned

in the ancient scriptures.

 

Love to all

Harsha