: Jnana yogis

[Guest guest]

Here are some considered thoughts on Western Advaita Teachers and the

distinction that needs to be

made between them and Jnanis .

 

The Advaita [still proliferating]Teachers of the Western World, who are often

gifted

communicators with attractive personalities, are by no means Sages. I am

personally friendly with

many of them, and I am sure they are too honest ever to make such a claim and

would all agree

with this thesis. Their vasanas [inborn accumalated habits and tendencies] are

still observably

active, and their self-termed awakening experiences are only according to

tradition, the

preliminary stages towards an eventual Self Realization in the fullest sense of

the term. If they

persevere with appropriate Sadhanas they may become Jivan Muktas. The arguement

often put against

Sadhana by many Teachers,that it strengthens the ego, is false. Surrender and

Self Enquiry are

designed to undermine and eventually destroy the conditioned and inborn

tendencies[vasanas]as well

as the narcisistic parts of the Ego. The support practices ,such as meditation,

japa, pranayama

etc. are there to prepare those whose minds are too restless for Self Enquiry or

lack the

necessary attention and concentration. Paradoxically the Teachers have all

undergone a great deal

of spiritual practice themselves, without exception - a very necessary

preparation, for their

experiences. Their sadhanas have happened in this life and possibly also in a

previous one, It

is not unless through Self Enquiry, Self Surrender and, if needed, the support

practices offered

by the Maharshi. are continued, that the vasanas and egotistic self-will can be

completely burned

out and there is Real Liberation as a Jivan Mukti living in the ‘no mind’ Sahaja

state. While the

vasanas are active the teacher is still living, like the ajnani from Reflected

Consciousness and

not the Absolute Pure Consciousness of the Sage. They are still teaching from

the Mind, not living

from ‘no mind.The Maharshi was able to teach through Silence, Papaji had

immense shakti able to

impart a foretaste of awakening to many devotees... Some regretably prematurely

assumed the right

to teach.

 

Having spent some time with Robert Adams, I know what a Jnani is. The silence

and peace around him

was palpable. The ‘mind’ must be trained to become ‘satvic’ and lose its

rjajistic and tamastic

tendencies. Then the satvic mind can surrender to the Self and become ‘no mind I

am the Self’ or

Self-Realised. I advise devotees and Teachers to study Robert’s Silence of the

Heart Vol 1 to

see what the Advaitic teaching adapted to the Western mind truly is .

 

The Contemporary Teachers often adapt their teaching to psychotherapy to meet

their audiences’

demands, as they earn their livelihoods by itinerant teaching wherever an

audience may be. found.

They marginalise Self Enquiry, as being too difficult, or ignore it . At the

best it is given in

an attenuated form. They do however, succeed in undermining the sense of

personal doership. and

teach ‘surrender’ by sleight of hand through terms such as welcoming, embracing,

being ok,

accepting ‘what is’ etc. These term strip the teaching of its necessary

Devotional implications

such as are felt as ‘God ‘or the ‘Real Self’. Devotion is essential to open

the Heart.

Intellectual understanding alone is arid and leads no where .except ias a

precursor to nesessary

Sadhana. To imply “all is only consciousness so do whatever you like”, is a

truncation of the

Maharshi’s Great Teachings. The injunction to give up spiritual practice is

dangerous, as it

allows the vasanas full permission to indulge, and leads to a dead-end of

Hedonism, or at best a

parking space until the next ‘satsang fix’. There is no Grace without effort.

One either wants

an illusory but comfortable self-calming quietness, or one wants Enlightenment.

 

But sometimes after attending endless teacher’s Satsangs some are led to the

Maharshi, to find out

what his real teaching truly IS. After attending, as an introduction, many

visiting different

teachers, one finds they are partially familiarised with many basic Advaita

concepts. The seeker

may then mature to Bhagavan’s Highest Teaching. Modern Western Advaita Teachers

do not give an

overview of the Advaita Teaching, but only offer fragments from a sporadic

question and answer

technique, where humour and quick wittedness is sometimes predominant. Many are

unfamiliar with

the totality of Bhagavan’s teaching and are not erudite in this respect.

Bhagavan Sri Ramana is

the Source of their Teachings. Many claim his lineage. But hopefully they and

their earnest

adherents will spritually ripen to the point of Self Realisation through the

Maharshi’s Direct

Path, and through his guidance which is even now, ever received by ardent

devotees.

 

I suppose it is inevitable that when “ Advaita Goes West”, rather as Buddhism

did when it left

India for China and then Japan, it becomes customised by the dominant culture.

Unlike in India

where an approach to the Jnana Marga is given in the Bhagavad Gita, a scripture

known to all.

Hindus. In fact Ramana’s teaching is the Maha Yoga which embraces all the

Yogas, Karma, Bhakti,

Raja and Jnana. The Westerner is a conditioned sceptical, materialistic

rationalist. He tries to

get his finite mind around the infinite and finds it confusing. The Western

Teachers and

Californian Gurus do their best to ease the passage, but it is at best a half

way house to the

Liberation of the Sage.

 

Ramana Maharshi is recognised as a Supreme Guru who sets a Teaching for a

millenium. By bringing

Self Enquiry to the forefront he gave a new opportunity for those tired of the

dream of samsara,

who wish to wake up from repetetive suffering. He wanted his teaching to “go

West’ hence his

appearance to Paul Brunton and Robert Adams in dreams before they even knew who

he was. The

Western Teaching Phenomenon is part of the plan of Totalitity to introduce

Advaita to Westerners,

but do not let it stop there, for either the Teachers or the Seekers sake.

 

*I would exclude Ramesh S.Balsekar ,a longstanding devotee of Sri Ramana,

Maharshi , and direct

pupil of Nisagadatta Maharaj from this overview as my forthcoming book 'The

Wisdom of Balsekar'an

anthology of his written works , approved by him, with a foreward by Wayne

Liquorman will

illustrate.It is not being released by Watkins Publishing until the Summer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

=====

alan

 

 

 

 

 

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