INNER GUIDANCE

THIS IS THE EDITORIAL THAT APPEARED IN MOUNTAIN PATH IN APRIL 2007

 

For devotees of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharishi who sincerely follow his teachings, there is conviction that they are subtly and actively guided by the invisible influence of guru.It is difficult for those who do not feel this umbilical connection, to comprehend and accept this fact and until they too experience it for themselves, explanations are inadequate.

 

Ever since the physical demise of Bhagavan, devotees have adjusted to this new reality with varying degrees of success.Bhagawan was aware that after his departure from this world many would feel lost because they had attached overwhelming importance to his physical presence.He joked once when a statue of him had been created that those who were enamoured of his form could worship it.

If Bhagawan is not there to be worshiped in a physical form anymore then how is that we can communicate in our hearts with this mysterious presence?

 

Though it is difficult to understand, we should realise that Bhagawa's origincal nature is an expression of our heart.A devotee who sat before him once explained to me that when he was graced by a long direct look from Bhagawan , he felt and understood that is was his own self looking at himself.The impact of this revelation , surely the essence of non-duality, opened his eyes to the understanding that he should seek Bhagawan in his own heart and not be attached to the external form of the guru.

 

We all have felt at least once the overwhelming certainty that Bhagawan is guiding us. Peop;e in general do not continue following a line of thought or action unless there is something in it for them.WE are all driven by our hunger to know the truth, and though we may be fooled some of the time , we stick to that satisfies a deep craing for fulfilment within us.The fact that so many people contiue to have an implicit faith in Bhagawan testifies to the truth to this fact.Tehre is something alive and available we call Ramana , which nourishes us , and on some suble level we intuitively undertstand this miracle.

 

The unnumerable questions our mind throws up can only be resolved by a decisive experince and our purposein practising the teaching is to be at one with this pure beingness exemplified by Bhagawan.Until we make the effort we shall never know the truth. WE have been instucted time and again that Bhagawan is nothing but the expression of our own heart.As the inner guru, he pulls us in to the source and as the external guru, he pushed us bakc to the point from whre we came.Being in touch with Bhagawan is being with in touch with our true self.WE spend our lives endevouring to achieve harmony and eventually relaise that the truth is embodied in this simple statement.

 

WE reognise that our minds are limited and our emotions confused, how then do we foucs our attention on Bhagawan in order to gain his attention? How do we create a permanent line of trust and communication with that which eludes our heavy-handed grasp? If we cannot see nor clutch this elusive being ,then of what use is it to us?

 

There are many pitfalls and delusions to transcend before we arrive at a point of pure consciousness.If we trust the guru we will be guided a right, but to do that we must first deliberatley surrender our own will and wholeheartedly trust the power and sagacity of the teacher. WE can do that either by careful reasoning , emotional resonance or more likely a combination of both; but most imprtatnly there must be aliving act of mutual recognition between guru and the seeker which normally occurs in an unexpected moment of transcendent silence.This crucial event is unmsitable as it is decisive.There may be doubts about many things , but this moment is irrefutable and not even the busy mind can explain it away. We just know.On this basis we start the journey.

 

It is our inner yearing fo rthe truth about ourselves which brings us into contact with Bhagawan.No prayer is unheard; no cal lfor help is unanswered. We may not be aware of the forces we have set in motion and it may be many years before our wishes reach fulfilment and even then it is often in a way we had not envisaged, but that is no reason not to place our faith in higher power. After all ,what other choice do we have? When we know that we are incapable of comprehending all the events which act on us, it seems logical to recognise that a greater intelligence is at work.For our ives do reveal moments of epiphay which lessen , at least temporarily , the crushing burden of ignorance we carry.They open up for an instant the wide horizons of peace and at-oneness.they give us the strenght and conviction to renew the contract initiated by Bhagawan,when he recognised our sincerity an dreached out to us after we took the first significant step.

 

We come into touch with the grace of the guru by admitting ourselves that relaly we do not know who we are.We sincerely ask for help.This simple procedure diminishes tht grip of our sense of narrow identification  (samsakaras) if only for second and allows a chink of light to penetrate the barriers of coneit. We have unconsciously developed stratergies to protectt our false self from every event ,thought or emotion which we are aftraid might interfere with our sense of apparent well-being.

A sure sign of ignorance is the inability to be open and flexible.Suppleness of mind and heart is not a wekness but mark of intelligence.

 

After the initial burst of spontaneous grace diminishes we slowly begin to realise that, having once tasted it, we naturally want to repeat it , until we live constantly with the lightness of being.We begin to focus if but for a moment , on our sense of I-ness by using that near tool, atma-vichara, or we remember the form of guru,which in this cae is Sri Ramana.Holding our attention on his compassionate countenanace purifies the mind and heart and lessens the gap between the wayward fantasies in which we indulge and which have no basis in relaity and the stillness where we expectt nothing , where we live in the presnt ,the only moment there is.

 

To make the connection premanent calls fo dedication, sincerity and perseverance.We bear responsibility for our own actions.And the road is long- a lifetimes worth of effort lies before us.Tehre is no easy course and no short-cuts.When we do encounter the guru ,be it inner or external , it gives us powerful and irresistable impetus to live; to discover who we are in the midst of lifes'uncertainties.Who has not looked up at the stars at night and wondered at the mystery of life and at our purpose in being alive? The guru is like those distant stars which fascinate us.In that calm ,vast silence of outer space we see the universe before which our minds have non choice but to surrender in wonder and we hear the deep resonance of measureless time which swallows up all our pretty notions.

When we realise that this grace is so suble that we cannot grasp it with our ordinary minds, we learn to purify our thoughts and emotions so that we may "listen" with the spirit.The answer is not to be found in books , o in this magazine or in visions or in journeys , or in people; but fortunately one or more of these can be signpost along the path.There are aids which seek to catch that which, according to the Upanishads, eludes all knowledge.The guru is not in these conceptions but is like the unexpected breeae which brushes us effotlessly disappear despite our attempts to hold on to it. We are always too slow, not from lack of effort but the reverse- because we are endeavouring to catch the wind.If only we could learn to reamin truly still in order to flow with the wind.The inner guru is not separate from us and can touch us at any moment.

 

Unfortunately we are held captive by the apparent reality of this body and mind, but if we can learn to hear the deep inner throb of the heart , it tells us we are alive and free.Or sincere and persistent efforts eventually enable us to stop for moment and we see that despite the evidence to contrary we can hover as birds do on the winds of change , fearless and curious.

When we realise there is no solid ground to clutch and rest in  naked space , we see too that, like the wind, we can move through life without any notion that can bind us.When we are still we naturally listen and become a vehicle for the sound of that silence.