Nisargadatta

[Guest guest]

Questioner: Whose is the effort?

 

Maharaj: The disciple's, of course. The outer Guru gives the

instructions, the inner sends the strength; the alert application is

the disciple's. Without will, intelligence and energy on the part of

the disciple the outer Guru is helpless. The inner Guru bids his

chance. Obtuseness and wrong pursuits bring about a crisis and the

disciple wakes up to his own plight. Wise is he who does not wait

for a shock, which can be quite rude.

 

Q: Is it a threat?

 

M: Not a threat, a warning. The inner Guru is not committed to non-

violence. He can be quite violent at times, to the point of

destroying the obtuse or perverted personality. Suffering and death,

as life and happiness, are his tools of work. It is only in duality

that non-violence becomes the unifying law.

 

Q: Has one to be afraid of his own self?

 

M: Not afraid, for the self means well. But it must be taken

seriously. It calls for attention and obedience; when it is not

listened to, it turns from persuasion to compulsion, for while it can

wait, it shall not be denied. The difficulty lies not with the Guru,

inner or outer. The Guru is always available. It is the ripe

disciple that is lacking. When a person is not ready, what can be

done?

 

Q: Ready or willing?

 

M: Both. It comes to the same.

 

....From " I Am That, " Chapter 75 p.373