Letters from Sri Ramanasramam 12

[Guest guest]

2nd December, 1945

 

GO THE WAY YOU CAME

 

On another occasion, an Andhra youth came and said,

" Swami, having a great desire for moksha (deliverance) and

anxious to know the way thereto, I have read all sorts of

books on Vedanta. They all describe it, each in a different

way. I have also visited a number of learned people and when

I asked them, each recommended a different path. I got

puzzled and have come to you; please tell me which path to

take. "

 

With a smile on his face, Bhagavan said, " All right, then,

go the way you came. " We all felt amused at this. The poor

young man did not know what to say. He waited until

Bhagavan left the hall and then with a depressed look turned

to the others there appealingly, and said, " Gentlemen, I have

come a long way with great hope and with no regard for the

expenses or discomfort, out of my ardent desire to know the

way to moksha; is it fair to tell me to go the way I came. Is this

such a huge joke? "

 

Thereupon one of them said, " No, sir, it is no joke. It is

the most appropriate reply to your question. Bhagavan's

teaching is that the enquiry, `Who am I?' is the easiest path

to moksha. You asked him which way `I' should go, and his

saying, `Go the way you came,' meant that if you investigate

and pursue the path from which that `I' came, you will attain

moksha. "

 

The voice of a Mahatma indicates the truth even when

speaking in a light vein. Thereupon the book, " Who am I? "

was placed in the hands of the young man who felt astonished

at the interpretation, and taking Bhagavan's words as upadesa,

prostrated himself to Bhagavan and went away.

 

Bhagavan usually gives us his teachings either in a

humorous or a casual way or by way of consolation. During

my early days at the Ashram, whenever I felt like going home,

I would approach Bhagavan at some time when there were

hardly any people present and say, " I want to go home,

Bhagavan, but I am afraid of falling back into family

muddles. " He would reply, " Where is the question of our

falling into anything when all comes and falls into us? "

 

On another occasion, I said, " Swami, I am not yet freed

from these bonds. " Bhagavan replied, " Let what comes come,

let what goes go. Why do you worry? " Yes, if only we could

realise what that `I' is, we should not have all these worries.