Guest guest Posted November 14, 2006 Report Share Posted November 14, 2006 My teacher, Chitrabhanuji, when I met him, was about 56 years old. Now he is in his mid 80s. He is the one who told me that of all the saints he visited, Sri Ramana stood out. That was back in the mid and late 1930s when he was a teenager but already had that burning desire to know the truth of life. Several tragedies in his life pushed him over the edge and he renounced the world and became a Jain monk in 1942 and engaged in intense meditation and silence for 5 years. in the 1970s, when I was studying with Chitrabhanu-ji, I would walk him back to his apartment after his lectures. We had many conversations. Once we had a long discussion on which method and spiritual path was best. I had certain strong opinions on the matter and he knew that but his nature was such that he did not like to contradict anyone, including his students. At the end of the conversation, he said to me gently, "Harshadev, you should not be rigid. Any path that is taken to the extreme whether it is mantra, meditation, pranayama, etc., will lead to Self-Realization." As I matured, I saw the truth of his observation. It is not the method or the path we practice, it is our sincerity and authenticity and longing that lights up any path we travel and take it to the end. And then we give up the path as well. But it is nice to find a method and/or a path that is yours; that you own in a sense because you took it all the way to the end. For me, that is the path of Sri Ramana. The path of Self-Inquiry. My teacher told me that Sri Ramana's path was the right path for me. Upon reading the talks, I instantly knew the truth of it. I continued practicing the path of Shakti Yoga with mantras and pranayama side by side with Self-Inquiry. Somehow these all merged in the Self, the Heart. Any path you travel, if you want to know where it goes, you should take it to the end. Take it to the very end and then you will own it. You will totally know it from beginning to the end and you will own it. If you own something, it is easy to give it up. If you own something, it is yours to give it up. If you give up what you own, You are left Alone. In that being Alone is All Oneness which is Pure, Unstained, and Completely at Rest in Its Own Nature. For the sake of simplicity, we call it the Heart. Love to all Harsha -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 15, 2006 Report Share Posted November 15, 2006 Dear Harsha, I appreciate this post. Since there is only the Self, only Brahman, than it has always seemed to me that any path, taken deeply enough will lead to the Self. What else is there? But one has to take the path deeply. Otherwise, it is like my teacher, Nome, says; it is like trying to find water by digging many shallow holes. Like you, I was deeply drawn to Sri Ramana's teachings from the moment I first encountered them. There is something so direct about Self-inquiry. The Upanishads reveal 'Tat tvam asi'. Self-inquiry leads to that truth in a most direct way. Other teachings show what seem to be other methods. But inherent in these is the dissolution of ego. Again Self-inquiry seems so direct. In my case, sangha is very important. Somehow sangha and satsang are such important supporting elements for practice. I appreciate your mentioning of this. I feel like each of us is an explorer, exploring the 'unknown.' (I put quotes around this, because what can ever be unknown from the Self). And sangha supports this exploration since seeing others so engaged can encourage us, and sometimes, like two explorers talking, one says, "have you looked at this?" and opens new vistas. Thank you for what you contribute. Not two, Richard , Harsha wrote: > Any path you travel, if you want to know where it goes, you should take > it to the end. Take it to the very end and then you will own it. You > will totally know it from beginning to the end and you will own it. > > If you own something, it is easy to give it up. If you own something, it > is yours to give it up. If you give up what you own, You are left Alone. > > In that being Alone is All Oneness which is Pure, Unstained, and > Completely at Rest in Its Own Nature. For the sake of simplicity, we > call it the Heart. > > Love to all > Harsha > > -- > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 16, 2006 Report Share Posted November 16, 2006 Thanks Harsha, for telling us about this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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