Ramana... Know yourself. Surrender

[Guest guest]

Devotee: God is described as manifest and unmanifest. As the former, He is

said to include the world as part of His Being. If that is so, we, as part of

the world, should find it easy to know Him His manifested form.

Bhagavan: Know your self before you seek to know the nature of God and the

world.

D: Does knowing myself imply knowing God?

B: Yes, God is within you.

D: Then what stands in the way of my knowing myself or God?

B: You wondering mind and perverted ways.

D: I am a weak creature. But why does not the superior power of the Lord

within remove the obstacles?

B: Yes, He will, if you have the aspiration.

D: Why should He not create the aspiration in me?

B: Then surrender yourself.

D: If I surrender myself, is no prayer to God necessary.

B: Surrender itself is a mighty prayer.

D: But is it not necessary to understand His nature before one surrenders

oneself?

B: If you believe that God will do all the things that you want Him to do, then

surrender yourself to Him. Other wise let God alone, and know yourself.

 

Another surrender dialogue:

 

D: We are worldly people and are affected by some grief that we cannot get

over. We pray to God and are still not satisfied. What should we do?

B: Trust God.

D: We surrender but still there is no help.

B: But if you have surrendered it means that you must accept the will of God

and not make a grievance of what may not happen to please you. Things may turn

our differently from what they appear. Distress often leads people to faith in

God.

D: But we are worldly people. We have wife, children, friend and relations.

We cannot ignore them and resign ourselves to the Divine Will without retaining

some trace of individuality.

B: That means that you have not really surrendered, as you say you have. All

you need to do is trust God.

 

More from The Teachings or Ramana Maharshi edited by Arthur Osborne