Q&A Slow and difficult Meeting a living Jnana Loosing my mind

[Guest guest]

THE MAHARSHI

September/October 2002Vol. 12 - No. 5

Produced & Edited byDennis HartelDr. Anil K. Sharma

 

 

 

Letters and Comments

 

Slow and Difficult

 

I have read the MAHARSHI newsletters on your web site and appreciate

all the information found on this site.

I have a personal question. So much has been said about how slow and

difficult this practice into Self-enquiry is. Why must this be so if

you are a sincere seeker? Sometime ago, you said that the door is

always open to Self-realization, but one must bend his head low in

order to enter, as the entrance is very low. Again why must this be

so? Should this not be something easily accessible if one is

searching in earnest? Or is this method not suitable for some.

- M. Bose, Canada

 

In the first stanza of his poem "Atma Vidya," Bhagavan has written:

"Self-knowledge is an easy thing,/ The easiest thing there is.", and

he goes on to say: "...This path than others is far easier,/

Therefore be still and keep a silent hold/ On tongue and mind and

body. That which is,/ The Self-effulgent, will rise within...."

Certainly, it is easy for the spiritually mature, but may appear

difficult for others. These ‘others’ will have to persevere perhaps

for a whole lifetime.

Directly in proportion to the intensity of your sincerity is

Self-enquiry made easy or difficult. "Bending one’s head low to enter

through the door of Self-realization" means simply that one must

become perfectly humble in all things. It is a metaphor for a state

of mind in which we become nothing and the Self or God is all. It was

said by the Sri Ramana in the course of a conversation.

The Maharshi also said there are two methods: Self-surrender or

Self-enquiry. The earnest seeker should adopt that method which seems

easiest and natural to his or her temperament. The fact is that those

who write to us are experiencing some difficulty in understanding the

theory and its application. There are also some who become

disheartened because of lack of apparent progress. Our answers are

directed toward the particular doubt or problem with the hope that it

may encourage the seeker to struggle on, for the ideal of

Self-realization is truly the only worthwhile endeavor which gives

real meaning to our lives.

- Editor

Meet a Living Jnani

 

I would like to ask you where I could meet a living Jnani, whether in

India or US. Thank you very much in advance for your answer.With

Love,

Sergei Petrov, Estonia

 

Yes, you can meet a living Jnani. It could happen in Russia, USA,

India or even right where you are now. How to find the living Jnani?

Totally dedicate your life to the search for Jnana within you. If you

do this with one-pointedness and perseverance the Jnani or Jnana will

automatically come to you. Since only a true Jnani can know another

Jnani, there is no other sure way of finding a Jnani than this.

- Editor

Losing My Mind

 

I believe we have emailed one another a few years back... I have a

comment/question. I am writing to you as I guessed from your writings

that you are ‘advanced’ with respect to RM’s teachings and could

perhaps shed light to my ‘situation’. My ‘problem’ is that I have

engaged in Self-enquiry for a few years now...and am drowning deeper

in the silence day by day...slowly but SURELY;

disappearing...initially.... I wondered if this would affect my

ability to work .... Initially this was not an issue...however...now

that even producing a single thought is an unbelievable effort...and

I am literally losing my mind...I am barely able to do my job

effectively.... I have begun training as a doctor...and considering

it is effort to make just one thought... you can guess how I am

feeling at the hos-pital...SO...although Advaita says things are

happening...I am now looking

incompetent regardless...(I used to be intelligent...ha) so I guess my

question...if I have one that is...is whether you have encountered

this problem and what have you done...? The way I feel now is that it

does not look like I will be able to practise medicine...(how can one

be a doctor if you can’t think??)... any thoughts would be

appreciated.

An Indian Student Doctor

 

When Venkataraman experienced full awareness of his immortal Self,

completely identifying with It, he was then unable to function in the

normal way that a boy of sixteen does in South India. The

individuality was swept away by a tidal wave of bliss-awareness and

he was henceforth lost in that eternal ocean of Satchitananda. For

many years he didn’t speak and barely moved about, so absorbed was

he.

If you honestly experience that your practice of Self-enquiry has

absorbed you into that bliss-awareness to the extent that you feel no

inclination to move your mind to obtain anything, by all means drown

yourself into that ocean of immortality and freedom. That is the

purpose of life. Your prarabdha will dictate the future actions of

the body.

On the other hand, if your deep silence does not produce that

inexplicable bliss, pure awareness and freedom, be cautious. The

disinclination to think and deep quietude may be indications of

progress, but only the total loss of individuality can bring about

the final experience. We have found that if aspirants renounce all

activity before the ground is fully prepared, the planted seeds of

spirituality may sprout, grow some, but soon wither for lack of

nourishment. So in most cases it is better to spend as much time as

possible in the mornings and evenings with one-pointed spiritual

practice, perform your daily work as a service in a detached,

efficient manner and always keep before your mind’s eye the goal

shown to us by the Sage of Arunachala, that is, total Self Abidance.

In this manner your work will not be a hindrance to your spiritual

practice; it will

be part of it. And at some point you will wake up and find that the

pure-awareness-current is alive and pulsating even in the midst of

complicated surgery.

- Editor.

 

 

Mail Stay connected, organized, and protected. Take the tour