Mercy ... Zenbabaji

August 22, 2005

"...How lovely and true are Sri Ramana's words to the questioning

student/visitors. Always, his humor, patience and love are expressed

as genuine caring rather than superiority and he always gently guides

the student back to their own understanding of their own heart,

experience and inner knowing...for that is how a true teacher leads a

student to comprehend a greater truth and to find understanding...we

can all be shown a thing or technique in a book, but until that

lesson or thing has been made "alive" within us, it has no truth...it

has no fixed reality and it never becomes a part of us.

It is funny to me that Americans often ask, "What do you think about

so and so?" rather than to ask, "What do you feel about so and so?"

as the latter form invites them to engage in a deeper emotional

process of validating the truth and also examining one's heart.

My Dear, Dearest Zenbabaji,

Oh yes! Is it not so ... Sri Ramana's humor, oh so endearing and so

sweetly put forth, like this part below which always makes me laugh

right out loud with Bhagavan, and brings such chuckling about ... at

myself! -

(Questioner: Sadguru is necessary to guide me to understand it.Sri

Ramana Maharshi: The sadguru is within.Questioner: I want a visible

Guru.Sri Ramana Maharshi: That visible Guru says that he is

within.patience, love and genuine caring are so evident, so moving,

and with you, I feel his words, feel what he's pointing to if I truly

listen and really hear what's being spoken or written.)

.... "a true teacher leads a student to comprehend a greater truth and

to find understanding...we can all be shown a thing or technique in a

book, but until that lesson or thing has been made "alive" within us,

it has no truth...it has no fixed reality and it never becomes a part

of us."

This is so, indeed Zenbabaji, have we not found it to be the actual

case based on our own life experiences and evidenced out in our

sadhana's offering and receiving, of Peace. While in L.A. at one of

the lectures given by Brother Achalanda who is senior monastic at

Lake Shrine, he said just what Sri Ramana said, in the words of

Paramahansaji. The truth he speaks of and writes about in his books

and lessons must be made "alive" within us. He said that practice of

Kriya Yoga alone would not bring about the ever-increasing thirst for

our so long searched for and so fervently longed for, Peace. It must

be done with devotion. Devotion along with Kriya Yoga makes the truth

come "alive" within oneslef by actually finding out for oneself the

validity of it. It then becomes a part of us through

Self-Realization. It becomes a reality ... the validity being the

Peace which one is saturated in, which one is drowned in via Grace,

Devotion, Surrender and Vigilence to Inquiry - Who Am I?

This Peace which comes after and during the sweetness of tears which

sometimes flow in devotion to the Guru is not mistaken for the actual

truth of realization of the Self, for experiential wisdom, for more

often than not it's actually just a lofty form of hyper-emotionality.

The old "let's have a holy moment," let's relive and repeat that

experience which felt so sweet and felt as a divine succor to the

Heart by wishing it were the case, by drumming up emotionality ...

will never give a glimpse of the reality of what Sri Ramana and

Paramahansaji indicate and relay. It's merely the waves of

consciousness in motion making motions for peace while not having an

actual notion nor understanding of Peace, of the actual experience of

Peace (which paradoxically is beyond the understanding of It.)

"If we talk of knowing the Self, there mustbe two selves, one a

knowing self, anotherthe self which is known, and the process

ofknowing. The state we call realisation issimply being oneself, not

knowing anythingor becoming anything. If one has realised,one is that

which alone is and which alone hasalways been. One cannot describe

that state.One can only be that. Of course, we looselytalk of

Self-realisation, for want of a betterterm. How to 'real-ise' or make

real thatwhich alone is real?"~ Sri Ramana Maharshi, "Be As You

Are"The Teachings of Sri Ramana MaharshiEdited by David Godman

"There is one other picture of Yogananda that I love...it is of him

playing the autoharp and looking like a delighted young boy...despite

the fact that he must have been 55 or 60 in the photo! perhaps you

have seen this? I have his recordings somewhere...packed away of

course. Must dig them out. Always enjoyed the "Divine Mother" and

"Blue Lotus Feet" chants best of all."

Paramahansaji had such a youthful countenance. When asked once by a

group who were attending one of his early lectures, (in the

twenties), how old he was, he asked them how old they thought he was.

Some of the guesses were given as, "A hundred,Seventy-five,"

"Thirty," and even "A thousand." His answer was something like this:

"I am only one. I was never born." Now, how to bear the Beauty of the

Truth he speaks? ... by bearing witness to the Self. By deep

meditation and inquiry one finds the truth within of what our Great

Friends have indicated so patiently, so Lovingly.

"The Self alone is real. All others are unreal.The mind and intellect

do not remain apart from you.The Bible says, 'Be still and know that

I amGod.' Stillness is the sole requisite for therealisation of the

Self as God."

"To see god is to be God. There is no allapart from God for him to pervade. He alone is."

"God, who is immanent, in his grace takespity on the loving devotee

and manifest himselfaccording to the devotee's development.

Thedevotee thinks that he is a man and expects arelationship between

two physical bodies. Butthe Guru who is God or the Self incarnate

worksfrom within, helps the man to see the error ofhis ways and

guides him on the right path untilhe realises the Self within."~ Sri

Ramana Maharshi, "Be As You Are"The Teachings of Sri Ramana

Maharshiedited by David Godman

"Well, must trundle off to sleepy land as I have had restless sleep

all week. Cannot explain why, as I am usually always a very sound

napper."

Isn't that interesting, my DearHearted Friend ... for this past week

has given little respite in rest, of that nourishment which is

afforded in deep sleep, (or samdhi ... or fainting, or death). I

cannot explain why either, but I too have had only snatches of deep

sleep, and the napping which I also like to do has not come this past

week. (What comes to mind now is a bhajan I used to chant called,

"Wink Has Not touched My Eyes.") This bhajan can be had through this

link:

http://www.yogananda-srf.org/ -

I WILL SING THY NAMEDevotional Chants Led by Monks of Self-Realization Fellowship

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