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Om Namo Bhagavathe Sri Ramanaaya

 

Dear Friends

 

Before I left the shores of England in September 2004, I felt a ‘tug’ towards

this list; so as I wanted to take a bit of it with me, I began harvesting the

archives, and downloaded some ‘Prime Posts’ onto my pocket computer. During the

course of my stay I read and re-read the selection many times, and every time I

read it, something goes ‘ping’, some metaphoric bulb flashes within the depths

of the primal being which we all issue from. It as if the legendary

wish-fulfilling tree is at hand; each reading gives it a gentle shake, and lo!

it produces another fruit....

 

Therefore I would like to share these now. The small anthology is still rather

lengthy, so I’ve divided it up into bite-size mouthfuls.

 

I highlighted sections which I found particularly striking.

 

anbudan, John Siva—Siva:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dear Rob,

> Would you please be my guru and make me stupid> in the same way?

Oh no! It seems that Guru has become gurulAghava. And we, the disciples, have

subsequently become like the monkeys who sit around red ochre* trying to warm

themselves.

om namo bhagavate sri ramanaya

Regards,

Miles

*Moderator’s note: ‘Red Ochre’ is more widely known as kumkum or kumkumum in

Tamil Nadu. It’s the red powder placed on the ajña chakra (between the

eyebrows) by Hindus and is offered on the tray by the Brahmins, along with

vibhuti [the sacred ash of Lord Siva, signifying the residue or reminder after

the ego has been burnt away]

> > > > > > > > > > > >

Dear Rob,

> Where then does this reverence for the Guru> and warmth come from?

The monkeys (from a previous message) run here and there looking for the colour

red because they associate red with warmth. It is hit or miss whether they get

red ochre or fire. Their understanding is incomplete. Eventually they come to

understand in full and bask in the sun which was all along the true source of

heat.

Guru is within and not without. The attraction (reverence) is innate, and

reverberates as one opens to the inner calling. One need only look within.

There the Guru sits, eternal and self-evident. There Grace is, ever-radiating.

It is not possible to move away from the warmth of this fire. This is the fire

of fires. Whether, or not, there is an 'outward' manifestation is of no

consequence. Those who declare that Guru must be ‘living’ have yet to

understand birth and death and remain with an extroverted vision. With this

extroverted vision we can see many imaginary gurus, who appear to confer Grace,

this of necessity based on the limited understanding we have as to what

constitutes Guru. However, Grace is never conferred; it always is. There is no

intermediary. Eventually one can but turn within and laugh at the absurdity of

the search.

> If you feel like writing a bit more about> your experience, I would be very grateful.

OK.

When I was a child I came across a single paragraph, in the first Yoga book I

read, which mentioned, in passing, an ‘Indian Guru’, named Sri Ramana Maharshi.

The instruction He gave was very simple and seemed to make a great deal of

sense. “Pursue the enquiry ‘Who Am I?’ relentlessly...Try to find out where the

‘I’-thought begins. Go on with your meditations. Keep turning your thought

within. One day the wheel of thought will slow down and an intuition will

mysteriously arise. Follow that intuition. Let your thinking stop and it will

eventually lead you to the goal.” This instruction blew my mind away {it was

the late 60s!! }, and this instruction was all that was necessary. It made

sense. Over the years many 'gurus' passed through Edinburgh and some of them I

met out of curiosity.

Ever Yours in Sri Bhagavan,

Miles

> > > > > > >

Dear Miles,

It's a privilege to read these words you've written. The reader feels

intuitively that the writer is describing something which for him is simple and

plainly seen. And the words are beautiful and clear.

So: this ‘monkey’ surrenders. He will make no more attempts to coerce you into

playing the role of the Guru. He will be too busy trying to wash the ochre

out of his fur.

But a question comes to mind. What about transmission, or diksha, or the power

of thepresence, or whatever we should call it? Many people experienced deep

states of quiet,samadhis, kundalini activity, and so on in Bhagavan's presence

that didn't occur when they were away from him. Isn't this something useful

that only a living Guru can provide?

> This instruction was all that was> necessary.

I am trying very hard to take this to heart.

Rob

~~~~End of Post Sequence [1]~~~~

[To be continued...}

 

Siva—Siva

 

 

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