Bhagavan Talks With Mr. Lorey

[Guest guest]

17the August, 1938 Talks 503.

 

An American gentleman, Mr.J.M. Lorey, has been stayingin the Ashram

for about two months. He asked : " I am leaving tonight. It

gives me pain to tear myself away from this place. But, I must go to

America. I ask for a messagefrom the Master. The Master understands

me even better thanI do myself. So, I pray for a message to keep me

up whenI am away from the Master. "

 

M.: The Master is not outside you as you seem to imagine. He is

within, is in fact the SELF. Recognise this Truth. Seek within you

and find Him there. Then, you will have constant communion with

Him. The message is always there ; it is never silent ;it can never

forsake you : nor, can you ever move away from the Master. Your

mind is outgoing. Because of that tendency it sees objects as being

outside and the Master among them. But,the Truth is different. The

Master is the SELF. Turn the mind within and you will find the

objects within. You will als realise that it is the Master who is

your very SELF andthere is nothing but Him. Because you identify

yourself with the body, you have accepted objects as being outside

you. But are you the body ?You are not. You are the SELF. There

are all the objectsand the whole universe. Nothing can escape the

SELF.How then can you move away from the Master who is your very

SELF ? Suppose your body moves from place to place, does it ever

move away from your SELF ?Similarly, you can never be without the

Master.

 

Mr.Lorey was struck by the answer, although he was

already familiar with the Master's ways. He was even visibly moved.

He prayed that the Grace of the Mastermight abide with him.

 

Sri Bhagavan : The Master being the SELF, Grace is inseparable

from the SELF.

 

Mr.L. saluted Sri Maharshi with intense fervour,saying that he

might be enabled to realise the Truth.

 

M.: Is there any moment when you have not realised the SELF ? Can

you ever be aspart from the SELF ?You are always That.

 

D.: You are the great Master shedding joy and blisson the world.

Your love is indeed unlimited that you choose to abide in the world

in human shape ! But I wish to know if one should necessarily

realise one's SELF before being of help to the country and a leader

of men.

 

M.: Realise the SELF first and the rest will follow.

 

D.: America is now the foremost country in industrial matters,

mechanical-engineering, scientific advance and other worldly

affairs. Will she come up to the same level in spiritual life also ?

 

M.: Certainly. She is bound to.

 

D.: Thank God that it will be so ! I am a partner in an

Engineering Firm. But, it is not of vital concern to me.I try to

bring spiritual ideals into the work-a-day lifeof the firm.

 

M.: That is good. If you surrender yourself to the Higher Power,

all is well. That Power sees your affairs through.Only so long as

you think that you are the worker youare obliged to reap the fruits

of your action. If on theother hand, you surrender yourself and

recognise yourindividual self as only a tool of the Higher Power,

thatPower will take over your affairs along with the fruits of

actions. You are no longer affected by them and thework goes on

unhampered. Whether you recognisethe Power or not, the scheme of

things does not alter.Only there is a change of outlook. Why should

youbear your load on the head when you are travellingin a train ? It

carries you and your load whether the load is on your head or on the

floor of the train. Youare not lessening the burden of the train by

keeping iton your head, but only straining yourself

unnecessarily.Similar is the sense of doership in the world bythe

individuals.

 

D.: I have been interesting myself in metaphysics forover twenty

years. But I have not gained any novel experience as so many others

claim to do. I have nopowers of clairvoyance, clairaudiance, etc. I

feelmyself locked up in this body and nothing more.

 

M.: It is right. Reality is only one and that is the SELF.All the

rest are mere phenomena in it, of it and by it.The seer, the

objects and sight, all are the SELF only.Can any one see or hear,

leaving the SELF aside ? What difference does it make to see or hear

any one in closeproximity or over enormous distance ? The organs of

sight and hearing are needed in both cases ; so alsothe mind is

required. None of them can be disposedwith in either case. There is

dependence one wayor another. Why then should there is be a

glamourabout clairvoyance or clairaudienced ? Moreover, what is

acquired will also be lost in duecourse. They can never be

permanent. The only permanent thing is Reality ; and, that

isthe SELF. You say " I am " : 'I am going' , 'I

amspeaking' , 'I am working' , etc. Hyphenate " I am " in all of

them. Thus, I-- AM . That is the abidingand fundamental

Reality. This Truth was taughtby God to Moses : " I AM that I

AM " . " Be still andknow that I--AM God. " So, " I--AM " is

God. You know that you are . You cannot deny yourexistence at any

moment of time. For, you must bethere to deny it. This (Pure

Existence ) is understoodby stilling your mind. The mind is the

outgoing facultyof the individual. If that is turned within, it

becomesstill in course of time and that " I--AM " alone prevails. "

I--AM " is the whole Truth.

 

D.: I appreciate the whole answer.

 

M.: Who is there to appreciate what ? A question about Heart.

Sri Bhagavan said : " Leave alone the idea of right andleft . They

pertain to the body. The Heart is the SELF.Realise it and then you

will see for yourself. (Mr.Lorey thanked Sri Bhagavan and saluted

himbefore retiring.) -- " TALKS WITH SRI RAMANA MAHARSHI " ,

pp.485-488