Ramana Maharshi's disciple says not to teach ourselves in the name of service of the world

[Guest guest]

After Bhagavan Sri Ramana cast off His mortal body in 1950, many of His

devotees from both India and abroad gradually came to recognizeSri Sadhu Om

Swamigal, not only as one of the foremost disciples of Sri Bhagavan, but

also as a person endowed with a rare gift to elucidate His teachings in a

clear and simple manner which could easily be understood and followed in

practice by all seekers of true knowledge.

 

Though some of Sri Swamigal’s writings in both prose and poetry were

published during his lifetime, and though many more have been published in

Tamil after he shed his physical body in March 1985, his attitude towards

the publication of his writings was quite different from the attitude of

many other writers of spiritual or philosophical books, who of their own

accord seek to share their knowledge with the world by writing and

publishing books.‘We should not open the door unless it is knocked’ was the

principle underlying all his acts. Unless he was questioned with sincere

earnestness, he would not speak or write anything about spiritual

matters. Rising

and going outwards to teach the world, getting on platforms to deliver

lectures, seeking to enlighten the world by writing voluminous books,

founding institutions, propagating religious doctrines by publishing

magazines – all such activities he used strictly to avoid. And in doing so,

he was but following the path lived and exemplified by Bhagavan Sri Ramana.

 

Sri Swamigal often used to say, “We should not run after the world; we

should not look outwards at the world,we should look inwards at Self. Those

sannyasis who run after the world achieve neither the world nor Self (God).

If we try to chase after our shadow, we will never catch it; but if we go

towards the sun, our shadow will automatically come running behind us. Those

sannyasis who are always attending to the world with the aim of teaching the

world became spoilt in the end. . . No Sage (jnani) who ever came on earth

was the product of an ashramam, math or any such institution. Each one of

them stood alone and realized the Truth by himself. There is no rule that a

man can attain true knowledge (jnana) only by becoming an inmate of a

religious institution. Therefore, in the name of service to the world, let

no one cheat himself and retard his spiritual progress by forming

foundations and associations and by preaching, shouting slogans and running

magazines”.

 

An invitation once came to Sri Swamigal from an earnest seeker in U.S.A.,

“Will you not come to the West and guide us?” His attitude is shown clearly

in his reply,which ran as follows: “. . .It is therefore unnecessary for the

Reality to run after the world. Moreover, according to the great truth

discovered and revealed by Sri Ramana Bhagavan, a good person leading a

simple yet highly spiritual life and passing away unknown to the world does

far greater good to the world than all the political and social reformers

and all the platform-heroes of philosophy. A truly enlightened life will

surely help earnest seekers even though they may be living in a remote

corner of the world and even without any physical contact, communications,

magazines or writings. This is Sri Ramana Bhagavan’s method of teaching the

world through speech-transcending Mystic Silence, the greatest Power. Is it

not up to us to follow the footsteps of our Guru, Sri Ramana’?… So why

should I think of going anywhere? As He who has guided me to His home is the

Father, Lord and inmost Self of one and all, does He not know best how to

guide home earnest seekers,wherever they may be?Why then should an ego rise

with the thought ‘I should guide people’? If such an ‘I’ were to rise, would

it not be a self-conceited attempt to belittle the Grace of Sri Ramana, the

one reality? Therefore, the thought of going to the West or the East, or

here, there or anywhere else, has never occurred to me and will never occur

to me!”

 

Source: The Path of Sri Ramana PART ONE The Jñana aspect of the teaching By

Sri Sadhu Om

--

Om namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Prasanth Jalasutram