guru's grace

[Guest guest]

According to David Godman (www.davidgodman.org) Ramana Maharshi said

it was the power of Arunuchala (the hill he said was his guru) that

brought about his realization. This seems to be supported by this

quote I found on page 5 of Talks With Ramana Maharshi:

 

 

 

" Is a Master (Guru) necessary for realization? " Mrs. Piggott asked first.

 

M.: The realization is the result of the Master's (Guru's) grace more

than teachings, lectures, meditation, etc. They are only secondary

aids, whereas the former is the primary and the essential cause.

 

 

 

Godman also says that Ramana said his " principal teaching was silence,

by which he meant the wordless radiation of power and grace that he

emanated all the time. The words he spoke, he said, were for the

people who didn't understand these real teachings. Everything he said

was therefore a kind of second-level teaching for people who were

incapable of dissolving their sense of " I " in his powerful presence.

You may understand his words, or at least think that you do, but if

you think that these words constitute his teachings, then you have

really misunderstood him. "

 

 

 

Godman also tells a story of his meeting Laskshamana Swamy, a

supposedly realized disciple of Ramana. He says, " Up till the time I

first met him, I had been meditating intensively for most of the day

for a period of about eighteen months. My mind was fairly quiet most

of the time and I really felt that I was making good progress on the

road to Self-realization. However, within a few seconds of being

looked at by Lakshmana Swamy, I was in a state of stillness and peace

that was way beyond anything that I had experienced through my own

efforts. That one darshan effectively demonstrated to me the need for

a human Guru. "

 

 

 

Words such as the above quite naturally lead some people to believe

that it is far more important to sit in the presence of a realized

guru rather than to do meditation, self-inquiry, philosophical

inquiry, etc. Are they wrong?

 

 

 

I'd be interested to know what anyone here thinks about this.

 

 

 

Mark