" Spiritual Sharing " from Sri Ganesan : Letters Exchanged

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Dear Friends,

 

Sri Ganesan has sent me a copy of his letters which I am free to share .The

very personal asides

have been ommited .Regards to all , Alan

 

 

 

--- "V. Ganesan" <trl_anandaram wrote: >

>

> My dear Sankar !

>

> Pranams.

>

> ! You remember Shujaat, who came to see me at your residence, from New York.

I felt

> like writing a long reply. His letter also I copy, hereunder.

>

>

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>

> My dear Brother Shujaat !

>

> Namaskar.

>

> You have answered your own question : "Action or no action. Who does the

action ?"

>

> One must have the 'foundation' understanding that each one of us has three

'gifts' from God :

> 'body' , 'mind' and 'soul' ! Watch it, carefully ! Of these, 1 and 3 are

irrefutable. All

> problems arise when one gives credence to Mr.2 and having 'assumed' its

reality,

> add to our problem, by abiding by its 'dictations' , 'injunctions' ! Sri

Maharshi 'questions'

> its 'validity' ! That is, the 'body' is born

> on a particular date and is definitely going to disappear into the earth on a

given date also.

> It is accepted ! The 'aliveness' without

> identification (as in deep sleep) is the 'life-principle' , the 'soul' -

one may not

> straightaway either 'accept' it or 'understand' it. Yet,

> it is there ! Where is the 'mind' ? As once Sri Bhagavan asked cook

Santamma :"You say mind

> is the problem. Where is it ? Has it moustache or beard ? Show it to me !"

Raise this most

> important question and delve on an answer 'yourself' -- please, don't quote

any passage,

> including ones from the Maharshi, as a 'ready-made' answer. Such

'answer-giving' mechanism is

> the slippery,

> non-catchable 'form' of this 'phantom' (as Sri Bhagavan calls it) ! "Yoga

Vasishtha'

> declares that the phenomenon 'mind' appears to exist (and dominate, rule

over, like the

> 'bridegroom party man' of Sri Bhagavan's story) due to the 'dosha'

(damage-causing

> defect) of "not inquiring into its apparent existence" ! The Hindu

'Puranas' , through

> various stories and descriptions, call it as

> "Vishnu Maya" ! 'Maya' is 'that which doesn't exist' ( 'ya' , 'ma' ). To

make it more

> specific, I quote from 'Srimad Bhagavatha' ,

> wherein Sage Narada asks Lord Krishna as to what is 'maya' . The Lord replies

: "Maya is that

> principle which deludes one both inwardly and outwardly - inwardly, it is the

"I" ; and

> outwardly, it is the "Time" " Follow this carefully : both, 'I' and 'time'

appear

> to exist, but actually are not there, at all ! Years back, s Saint

beautifully said : " Birth

> is there and death is there. But, tell me,

> what is there, in between them ?"

>

> When this 'phantom' is enquired into, questioned , at that very moment, one

lands in 'silence'

> . This 'moment' of silence is called

> NOW. 'Now' is not in time; it cannot be measured by any 'unit' of time. If

one ponders over

> the 'reality' of NOW and the non-reality of 'time' , seriously and

sincerely, the whole

> gamut of 'maya' is clearly understood . For human beings it is 'maya' and

for God , the term

> used is 'Leela" (Play). One's duty, therefore, is not to analyse what

'maya' really is ;

> but, to summarily 'reject' it

> or give no credence to it, at all. You can nullify 'maya' not on the

'ground' (boxing

> platform) of 'action' , but, positively by remaining on the 'open space' of

'Silence' - with

> the 'non-action' of WHO AM I ? The unreality of 'maya' is proved and

> experienced only in the NOW ; and, without an 'experiencer' , without an

'actor' ! "Action"

> is by the 'body' and the "life-force"

> is derived from the "Soul" : where is room for the 'actor' ? The 'actor'

is a 'myth' ,

> which tradition labels as 'maya' !

>

> With regard to your specific question : the contradiction that you face with

your profession as

> a Psychiatrist and whether you have to tell every one (patients) about the

'Ultimate Truth' , my

> answer will be 'funny' ! Don't 'ponder' over it. Whatever is to happen

will automatically

> 'happen' , without an 'actor' activating the action. Not making such things

into an 'issue' ,

> is to utterly 'handicap'

> the 'mind' which 'cripples' us , by making us 'believe' that it is an

'issue' and it must be

> 'solved' , then and there ! Any form of a

> sense of 'urgency' imposed on us is always the 'trick' of the mind.

Postpone it for a few

> moments and watch -- the mind will create

> greater 'restlessness' ; then, you assure to yourself that you will "wait" ,

indefinitely !

> When 'calmness' settles down in yourself,

> whatever 'action' that 'follows' (no 'actor' involved, claiming the credit

of action to

> himself) will be, what Sri Bhagavan calls as,

> "whatever is to happen, will happen" .

>

> The nature of 'profession' one does has nothing to do to disturb progress in

the Path of

> Wisdom (" Jnana Marga" ). We have the

> Upanishadic story of a ripe seeker being directed (for further instruction)

by a Saint, to a

> 'butcher' . The seeker gets his

> enlightenment from the butcher, while in action with his butchery !

>

> Be honest and true to yourself -- this will open doors after doorrs , in

your "Journey Within"

> ! This is an "assurance", given to us

> seekers, by the Scriptures and by the Great Saints ! Our duty is to have

unstinted and spotless

> "faith" in this 'assurance' , which

> is termed by the very same Sages, as GRACE ! "Grace" of the Guru and the

"faith" of the

> seeker are synonymous and

> simultaneous ! HAVE FAITH ! GRACE pours forth, illimitably and

torrentially !

>

> Love,

> Ganesan.

>

>

>

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>

> Most Dear and Respected Ganesan ji!

>

> Namaskars!!

>

> I wanted to share with you and ask for guidance about the dilemma that My

> mind faces at times. In my profession as a Psychiatrist, I work according to

> my training in my field and the expectations at the job. However, I feel

> this work is rather "superficial". Like a bandaid for people....i know some

> people may be ready for that only, however, i feel that the only way to help

> them for me atleast is to share the direct path to overcome their suffering.

> Less than that everything seems temporary.

>

> I guess the confusion in me arises about whether to do something about it or

> surrender to what is and whatever has to happen shall be revealed and

> meanwhile just inquire. There is a source of discomfort or incompletion

> somewhere inside my mind. Action or no action. And who does the action?

>

>

>

> I look forward to hearing from you.

>

> Love and Peace

>

> Shujaat Qayyum

>

>

>

 

=====

Life is a pure flame,and we live

by an invisible Sun within us.

 

 

 

 

 

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