Grace and the Atman-magnet

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Namaste All,

 

In Ben's extended excerpt from No Mind--I am the Self, this quote from

Lakshmana Swamy,

 

"The mind can never eliminate itself without the grace of the Self."

 

reminded me of my favorite quote from Conscious Immortality (a collection

of conversations with Bhagavan recorded by Paul Brunton and Mungala

Venkataramiah).

 

Bhagavan: "The Self is like a powerful magnet hidden within us. It draws us

gradually to Itself though we imagine we are going to It of our own accord.

When we are near enough, It puts an end to our other activities, makes us

still, and then swallows up our personal current, thus killing our

personality. It overwhelms the intellect and floods the whole being. We

think we are meditating upon It and developing towards It, whereas the

truth is that we are like iron-filings and It is the Atman-magnet that is

pulling us towards Itself. Thus the process of finding Self is a form of

divine magnetism."

 

In Bhagavan,

 

David