Sadhu Natanananda asks Sir Ramana

[Guest guest]

Q: What are the marks of a real teacher, Sadguru?

A: Steady abidance in the Self, looking at all with and equal eye, unshakable

courage at all times, in all places and circumstances, etc.

Q: What are the marks of an earnest disciple?

A: An intense longing for the removal of sorrow and attainment of joy.

Q: What are the marks of a guru's grace?

A: It is beyond words or thoughts.

Q: Is the state of 'being still' a state involving effort or it is effortless?

A: It is not an effortless state. All mundane activities which are ordinarily

called effort are performed with the aid of a portion of the mind and with

frequent breaks. But the act of communion with the Self, or remaining still

inwardly, is intense activity which is performed with the entire mind and

without break.

Q: What is meditation?

A: It is abiding as one's Self without swerving in any way from one's real

nature and without feeling that one is meditating.

Q: What are the rules of conduct which an aspirant (sadhaka) should follow?

A: Moderation in food, moderation in sleep and moderation in speech.

Q: How long should one practice?

A: Until the mind attains, effortlessly, its natural state of freedom from

concepts. That is, till the sense of 'I' and 'mine' no longer exist.

Q: If everything happens according to karma, how is one to overcome the

obstacles to meditation?

A: Karma concerns only the out-turned mind and not the in-turned mind.

 

Sadhu Natanananda continued to stay opposite Ramanasraman for many years after

Ramana's Mahanirvana. No genuine seeker was denied his advice about the

practical aspects of self-enquiry. He wrote a commentary in Tamil on the 'Five

Hymns to Arunachala'. He also wrote a collection of incidents from Ramana's life

titled 'Ramana Darsanan'.

 

Snip from Timeless in Time by Natarajan