THE SAME GAME BY ANOTHER NAME

02-29-2004, 10:02 AM

------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE SAME GAME BY ANOTHER NAME

by Dr.Sarada

What is your objection, my friend? You say that you are not
interested in knowing about the 'Self'. It seems absurd to you that
anyone may propose some deficiency in your knowledge of
yourself, does it not? Where then does 'self-enquiry' figure? Why
on earth the question 'Who am 'I'?' As for the terms 'awareness'
or 'consciousness'-they seem to be Greek and Latin. So far as
you can see consciousness pertains to your thoughts and
emotions, your capacity to think and, of course, your cognisance
of the body and its demands. You are quite convinced that the
'Ramana Way' is for the spiritual elite, not for laymen like you. It is
quite beyond your understanding. Bhagavan himself may smile
and ask you, 'Well, you believe you exist, is it not? Even in deep
sleep? But, you have no awareness of your body then. You have
no thoughts then, not your fears and ambitions, not your dreams
and plans, not even any knowledge of those who are dearest to
you. Surely you have no thoughts of yourself either then. Yet do
you not exist in deep sleep? What is that 'I' which exists minus
knowledge of the body, minus the mind itself with all the
thoughts-the most frivolous and the most deep rooted?' Despite
Bhagavan's asking you may remain stubborn and fail to
investigate, but Bhagavan will not leave you so easily, he leaves
nobody.

Bhagavan says in 'Arunachala Ashtakam', 'Oh Arunachala! You
assumed various forms in varying faiths so that all may know
you'. Yes, Bhagavan has been so lenient as to say 'Even a single
effort made to quell a single thought will not go in vain'. He has
encouraged people to follow any path they are used to traversing
provided they are headed in the general direction of self-enquiry
and Self-Knowledge. He has done so because of the certainity
that all paths will finally lead only to self-enquiry. In apparent
innocence he has also suggested that those who cannot (or will
not) practise self-enquiry can follow the path of surrender.
'Apparent innocence' because in reality there are no two ways,
that of self-enquiry and of surrender. It is the same way, but
relative as we are we give it a different name. We call the same
Lord by a thousand names, do we not? Yet of this later. Right
now Bhagavan is asking with the same sweetness, 'Not
interested in self-enquiry? Well then, why don't you try
surrender?' Your defences are down. Self-enquiry you have
decided is not your cup of tea, whether or not it really is, but what
is this new proposition? 'Well' you ask a little tentatively, 'What is
surrender?'

Surrender? Surrender is giving up, submitting oneself entirely.
Seems simple on the face of it. After all it is not difficult to give
oneself up to one who is dear, is it not? Seems so simple in fact
that many of us believe we have surrendered. We believe we
accept whatever life brings as a gift from Bhagavan. Yet are we
filled with overflowing joy every moment? Is there no experience,
no moment in our lives that we would wish away or want to be
different? It there no hope, no dream lingering? If there is, it
cannot be surrender. For surrender is no conditions, no
expectations,no questions asked, not even a trace of difference,
absolute acceptance.

Surrender is the complete offering of oneself to the Supreme. It
is not even saying, 'Thy will be done', to Him. For, this indicates
that there are two wills, one 'His Will', and one 'our will'. Where
would we retain the right to will after having surrendered? In
surrendering one would have forfeited all rights, the right to
choose, the right to want, the right to act. Yes, even the right to
think, for thought is action. If the Sadguru allots some work it
would be done without a second thought. If no work is one's lot,
silence would reign. There would be no room to ask for the
Sadguru's Grace. There would be no room even to wish for what
we believe to be the 'highest good'. There is the classic trap by
Bhagavan on this issue. Devaraja Mudaliar asked 'Bhagavan, I
have surrendered to you, yet I am making no spiritual progress.
Should you not ensure it?' And Bhagavan joked, 'Whether I do so
or not, how can you question it once you have surrendered?' This
is not to say that Devaraja Mudaliar had not surrendered. He
certainly had, but just at that moment the mind played its trick.
Such was his vigilance that he could catch Bhagavan's point
immediately and laugh at himself. Just as we cannot make
demands once we have surrendered, neither can there be room
for the thought 'I have surrendered'. For if 'I' remain, then
surrender is not, even as there is no room for the thought 'I am
doing self-enquiry' in self-enquiry. Such a thought would mean
that an 'I' is assumed and no enquiry is afoot about the validity of
the 'I'.

So surrender is such complete submission that no individuality
remains. Doesn't this sound dangerously similar to
self-enquiry? And the going doesn't seem so easy after all. If
giants like Devaraja Mudaliar could be tripped on the issue, how
could we ever hope to surrender? Ah, my friend, you are trying to
escape again. You are trying to wriggle out of everything that will
put your little individuality in the remotest danger, are you not?
Who would wish to submit, and that too of one's sweet will, so
totally to anyone? True, the one to whom we surrender may be
the most beloved, may be Bhagavan himself. Still, absolute,
unquestioning submission is too high a price to pay, is it not?
True, what we get in return for this submission may be the
infinite bounty of natural bliss, but this is not a condition of the
submission. Why on earth should we surrender? Just as there
seems to be no burning necessity for self-enquiry in our lives,
we may well decide that surrender too is out of place. But then
again, as we have seen, Bhagavan will not leave you so easily,
my friend, neither you nor me, he leaves nobody.

So he creates circumstances where surrender becomes
imperative, where we become aware of our own littleness or
helplessness. We are always powerless, but for the most part
live in fools' paradises of imagining ourselves to be at the helm
of affairs, capable of steering our own ships through the troubled
waters of life. And the Sadguru, the Supreme, the Self allows us
too for the most part to wallow in our stupidity, allows us to
asume we are in control of our actions, of our thoughts, of our
lives. Then, out of utmost compassion some events are made to
occur which make us sit up and take notice of that power which
is truly in charge. The event may be something extraordinarily
beautiful and magical that suddenly enters our life. It may make
us ask, 'What have I done to deserve this joy? Why have I been
blessed with it? Surely it is some marvellous Power that has
showered this bounty on me'. The event may also be tragic, or on
the brink of the tragic, some pain which all our efforts cannot
soothe and then in despair we turn to a power beyond ourselves
for help. And help we surely find. Not necessarily in a reversal of
the event or its change in a direction we wish it to take but
perhaps simply in our capacity to face it, to deal with it. In that
moment of recognition, in that most magical moment we can say
with our entire being 'Not I, O Lord, but you are the light of my life,
of every life and how marvellously you steer those million million
ships. With what infinite love you attend to every little need of
even the tiniest creature. How gently you administer sorrow to
make us grow beyond our little selves, to soften us, to make us
recognise the infinite beauty of your love. How lovingly you
shower that joy which makes us see your smile in every flower,
in every star, in every face, in tears as in laughter, in destruction
as in the blossoming of life'.

Yet, the magical moment of recognition may pass. Even as the
vigilance of enquiry wanes, even as we get back to the habit of
identification, we may get back to the habit of authority and
surrender too may be forgotten. So with equal gentleness, with
equal firmness, Bhagavan asks us to keep at surrender.
Surrender may not be total to begin with, he says with his
customary lenience, it must then be cultivated. One can start by
consciously striving to surrender, as he clarifies in 'Upadesa
Saram', not only the fruits of our actions but the actions
themselves by recognising that His Power alone makes all
things possible.

Let us look at a day that is governed by the attitude of surrender
even as we looked at a day that has the undercurrent of
self-enquiry. We wake up to some thoughts surely for we have
not exercised any particular effort to watch for the experience
prior to thoughts. We may awake with that thought which is
predominant in our mind, usually the last thought we had before
falling asleep. If this is a happy thought, if it invigorates us, then
at that very point let us recall also the mood of surrender. Let us
thank Bhagavan for giving us that lovely thought. If, on the other
hand it is a sad thought, instead of wallowing deeper in the grief
let us turn to Bhagavan with the prayer, 'Yours is all power, so
give me the strength to turn away from these disturbing
thoughts'. This attitude of surrender, of remembering
Bhagavan's underlying power may be adapted not just in the
morning but whenever thoughts flood our mind.

Next we may proceed with the morning's routine tasks. Let us
not fail to remember His bounty even in these simple deeds.
Isn't it wonderful that we have teeth to brush, hands to brush
them with, eyes to behold the wonder of the rising sun, the
sense of touch to feel the morning breeze, tongue to taste the
warmth of the coffee or tea, a stomach that can digest it,
understanding to grasp what is written in the morning paper?
Oh, we have a million things to be thankful for. Surely, even if a
few from that list of million are missing, we would always have
something to be thankful for. Why, the very fact that we are alive,
the marvellous fresh breath, the hope for another day. A friend
observed a morning scene from the comfort of a car. A group of
pavement-dwellers brushing their teeth. An old couple, perhaps
their daughter or daughter-in-law, grandchildren, a babe in arms,
on the dirty pavement, themselves positively dirty. All talking to
each other, sharing one brush between two or three of
themselves, brushing with some red powder, perhaps mud. Yet,
all so full of joy, laughing, sharing a joke-a moment of infectious
mirth and vigour, the pulse of life. At that moment their cups were
full. Is not happiness so purely a matter of attitude, wondered the
observer.

This continued rememberance of joy and love, of peace and
wonder, of beauty and magic in all things, linking each with the
Sadguru's bounty and power, His compassion and
magnificence, would surely keep the spirit of surrender alive
through the day. When we sit for our daily meditation, to recall
that it is His grace which has made it possible, at the end of the
session, to thank Him for it.

When we get onto our vehicle to ride it, remembering that it is He
who gives the ability to do so. When we begin each task, to thank
Him for enabling us to attempt it. At the end of each task to
wonder that He has accomplished it for us. Every time
individuality rises its head, every time the ego becomes rampant
saying, 'Look at my capacity, my ability, my generosity, my
alertness, my power, why, even my love', let us pause. Let us
pause and smile, even laugh at ourselves and ask, 'Your love my
dear mind, your peace, your power, your intelligence, your
achievement.? Are you really capable of all this my little mind? Is
your power your own? In a moment you forget the most vital
facts, suddenly you become unhappy over trivialities, you find
yourself unable to come up with the right words, you are
non-plussed to find solutions for a problem, you get irritated with
those whom you hold dear, you believe you have no expectation
and yet want the world. My dear mind, is not your limitation
endless? You are indeed powerless. Yet, you would have me
believe that you are infinitely powerful. I know your tricks only too
well now.You are connected to an infinite powerhouse of
happiness and peace, creativity and energy, of love and
compassion. Every now and then you draw all these from the
source and pretend they are your own treasures. When I fall for
your pretence, my little mind, and forget the source altogether,
then I lose all contact with meaning. Yet, the Sadguru, the Self,
the Supreme One is so compassionate that time and again He
revives the connection. Now I will not fall a prey to your illusion
any more. I will remember that it is He, not I that makes every
action, every experience possible'. So saying one can hold on to
the attitude of surrender. Then, if one pauses once more, one
can have a hearty laugh at oneself. 'I will remember that it is He',
did we say? Do we have the strength for that, the strength to
remain with the attitude of surrender? No. That too must come
from Him, must it not? Does this mean we can happily cling to
identity because we lack the courage to surrender? Well, who
are we to make this decision either? Let us stop going round in
absurd circles and simply leave all to Him. When He blesses us
with this recognition how light would be our heart and how full.
Does not happiness overflow from your heart even at the
thought, my friend? Do not tears glisten in your eyes as in mine,
tears that spring from the fullness that is Him? And then shall we
both burst forth in laughter that Bhagavan has conned us? We
began by saying that self-enquiry is not our cup of tea, but what
has he given us in its place? The same questioning of the
validity of identity. Only instead of looking for its source within, we
remember time and again that the source is He. Time and
again, mind you. Whenever the ego makes its appearance we
must wonder at it, mock it, we must question it and knock it
down. Instead of with the query 'Who am 'I'?' with the question
and statement 'Are you what you think you are, powerful? No it is
He. He is all'. This too requires unbroken vigilance, does it not?
Yes, my dear friend, it is the same game by another name. Yet,
in such magical company who would not play? Aha! Whose
choice is it anyway ?

02-29-2004, 12:29 PM

Dear Shawn:

I really enjoyed this. It even makes sense to me. I love it when things make sense!!!
While it is true that Ramana is the source, there is something about this one which
rings true and is easy to comprehend in relationship to his teachings.

I did a quick internet search and came up with a lot of references to a Dr Sarada Natarajan in
connection with Ramana Maharshi. Is she the Dr. Sarada who authored
this article? And is there a link I can refer to for copyright
purposes?

I would like to link it to my Ramana page on "Bhakti is Jnana Mata," but I want to be sure that
I am accurate. Thanks for posting it. I am glad you are still with
us. You had not posted in
awhile and I was beginning to think that you got lost in a tidal wave.

Love,

Bhakti toes :-)

in ----- Original Message -----
From: Shawn Hair
To: HarshaSatsangh (AT) yahoogroups (DOT) com
Sent: Sunday, February 29, 2004 6:02 PM
Subject: [HarshaSatsangh] THE SAME GAME BY ANOTHER NAME
------------------------------------------------------------------------THE
SAME GAME BY ANOTHER NAMEby Dr.Sarada What is your objection, my
friend? You say that you are not interested in knowing about the
'Self'. It seems absurd to you that anyone may propose some
deficiency in your knowledge of yourself, does it not? Where then
does 'self-enquiry' figure? Why on earth the question 'Who am 'I'?'
As for the terms 'awareness' or 'consciousness'-they seem to be Greek
and Latin. So far as you can see consciousness pertains to your
thoughts and emotions, your capacity to think and, of course, your
cognisance of the body and its demands. You are quite convinced that
the 'Ramana Way' is for the spiritual elite, not for laymen like you.
It is quite beyond your understanding. Bhagavan himself may smile and
ask you, 'Well, you believe you exist, is it not? Even in deep sleep?
But, you have no awareness of your body then. You have no thoughts
then, not your fears and ambitions, not your dreams and plans, not
even any knowledge of those who are dearest to you. Surely you have
no thoughts of yourself either then. Yet do you not exist in deep
sleep? What is that 'I' which exists minus knowledge of the body,
minus the mind itself with all the thoughts-the most frivolous and
the most deep rooted?' Despite Bhagavan's asking you may remain
stubborn and fail to investigate, but Bhagavan will not leave you so
easily, he leaves nobody.Bhagavan says in 'Arunachala Ashtakam', 'Oh
Arunachala! You assumed various forms in varying faiths so that all
may know you'. Yes, Bhagavan has been so lenient as to say 'Even a
single effort made to quell a single thought will not go in vain'. He
has encouraged people to follow any path they are used to traversing
provided they are headed in the general direction of self-enquiry and
Self-Knowledge. He has done so because of the certainity that all
paths will finally lead only to self-enquiry. In apparent innocence
he has also suggested that those who cannot (or will not) practise
self-enquiry can follow the path of surrender. 'Apparent innocence'
because in reality there are no two ways, that of self-enquiry and of
surrender. It is the same way, but relative as we are we give it a
different name. We call the same Lord by a thousand names, do we not?
Yet of this later. Right now Bhagavan is asking with the same
sweetness, 'Not interested in self-enquiry? Well then, why don't you
try surrender?' Your defences are down. Self-enquiry you have decided
is not your cup of tea, whether or not it really is, but what is this
new proposition? 'Well' you ask a little tentatively, 'What is
surrender?'Surrender? Surrender is giving up, submitting oneself
entirely. Seems simple on the face of it. After all it is not
difficult to give oneself up to one who is dear, is it not? Seems so
simple in fact that many of us believe we have surrendered. We
believe we accept whatever life brings as a gift from Bhagavan. Yet
are we filled with overflowing joy every moment? Is there no
experience, no moment in our lives that we would wish away or want to
be different? It there no hope, no dream lingering? If there is, it
cannot be surrender. For surrender is no conditions, no
expectations,no questions asked, not even a trace of difference,
absolute acceptance.Surrender is the complete offering of oneself to
the Supreme. It is not even saying, 'Thy will be done', to Him. For,
this indicates that there are two wills, one 'His Will', and one 'our
will'. Where would we retain the right to will after having
surrendered? In surrendering one would have forfeited all rights, the
right to choose, the right to want, the right to act. Yes, even the
right to think, for thought is action. If the Sadguru allots some
work it would be done without a second thought. If no work is one's
lot, silence would reign. There would be no room to ask for the
Sadguru's Grace. There would be no room even to wish for what we
believe to be the 'highest good'. There is the classic trap by
Bhagavan on this issue. Devaraja Mudaliar asked 'Bhagavan, I have
surrendered to you, yet I am making no spiritual progress. Should you
not ensure it?' And Bhagavan joked, 'Whether I do so or not, how can
you question it once you have surrendered?' This is not to say that
Devaraja Mudaliar had not surrendered. He certainly had, but just at
that moment the mind played its trick. Such was his vigilance that he
could catch Bhagavan's point immediately and laugh at himself. Just as
we cannot make demands once we have surrendered, neither can there be
room for the thought 'I have surrendered'. For if 'I' remain, then
surrender is not, even as there is no room for the thought 'I am
doing self-enquiry' in self-enquiry. Such a thought would mean that
an 'I' is assumed and no enquiry is afoot about the validity of the
'I'. So surrender is such complete submission that no individuality
remains. Doesn't this sound dangerously similar to self-enquiry? And
the going doesn't seem so easy after all. If giants like Devaraja
Mudaliar could be tripped on the issue, how could we ever hope to
surrender? Ah, my friend, you are trying to escape again. You are
trying to wriggle out of everything that will put your little
individuality in the remotest danger, are you not? Who would wish to
submit, and that too of one's sweet will, so totally to anyone? True,
the one to whom we surrender may be the most beloved, may be Bhagavan
himself. Still, absolute, unquestioning submission is too high a
price to pay, is it not? True, what we get in return for this
submission may be the infinite bounty of natural bliss, but this is
not a condition of the submission. Why on earth should we surrender?
Just as there seems to be no burning necessity for self-enquiry in
our lives, we may well decide that surrender too is out of place. But
then again, as we have seen, Bhagavan will not leave you so easily, my
friend, neither you nor me, he leaves nobody.So he creates
circumstances where surrender becomes imperative, where we become
aware of our own littleness or helplessness. We are always powerless,
but for the most part live in fools' paradises of imagining ourselves
to be at the helm of affairs, capable of steering our own ships
through the troubled waters of life. And the Sadguru, the Supreme,
the Self allows us too for the most part to wallow in our stupidity,
allows us to asume we are in control of our actions, of our thoughts,
of our lives. Then, out of utmost compassion some events are made to
occur which make us sit up and take notice of that power which is
truly in charge. The event may be something extraordinarily beautiful
and magical that suddenly enters our life. It may make us ask, 'What
have I done to deserve this joy? Why have I been blessed with it?
Surely it is some marvellous Power that has showered this bounty on
me'. The event may also be tragic, or on the brink of the tragic,
some pain which all our efforts cannot soothe and then in despair we
turn to a power beyond ourselves for help. And help we surely find.
Not necessarily in a reversal of the event or its change in a
direction we wish it to take but perhaps simply in our capacity to
face it, to deal with it. In that moment of recognition, in that most
magical moment we can say with our entire being 'Not I, O Lord, but
you are the light of my life, of every life and how marvellously you
steer those million million ships. With what infinite love you attend
to every little need of even the tiniest creature. How gently you
administer sorrow to make us grow beyond our little selves, to soften
us, to make us recognise the infinite beauty of your love. How
lovingly you shower that joy which makes us see your smile in every
flower, in every star, in every face, in tears as in laughter, in
destruction as in the blossoming of life'.Yet, the magical moment of
recognition may pass. Even as the vigilance of enquiry wanes, even as
we get back to the habit of identification, we may get back to the
habit of authority and surrender too may be forgotten. So with equal
gentleness, with equal firmness, Bhagavan asks us to keep at
surrender. Surrender may not be total to begin with, he says with his
customary lenience, it must then be cultivated. One can start by
consciously striving to surrender, as he clarifies in 'Upadesa
Saram', not only the fruits of our actions but the actions themselves
by recognising that His Power alone makes all things possible.Let us
look at a day that is governed by the attitude of surrender even as
we looked at a day that has the undercurrent of self-enquiry. We wake
up to some thoughts surely for we have not exercised any particular
effort to watch for the experience prior to thoughts. We may awake
with that thought which is predominant in our mind, usually the last
thought we had before falling asleep. If this is a happy thought, if
it invigorates us, then at that very point let us recall also the
mood of surrender. Let us thank Bhagavan for giving us that lovely
thought. If, on the other hand it is a sad thought, instead of
wallowing deeper in the grief let us turn to Bhagavan with the
prayer, 'Yours is all power, so give me the strength to turn away
from these disturbing thoughts'. This attitude of surrender, of
remembering Bhagavan's underlying power may be adapted not just in
the morning but whenever thoughts flood our mind.Next we may proceed
with the morning's routine tasks. Let us not fail to remember His
bounty even in these simple deeds. Isn't it wonderful that we have
teeth to brush, hands to brush them with, eyes to behold the wonder
of the rising sun, the sense of touch to feel the morning breeze,
tongue to taste the warmth of the coffee or tea, a stomach that can
digest it, understanding to grasp what is written in the morning
paper? Oh, we have a million things to be thankful for. Surely, even
if a few from that list of million are missing, we would always have
something to be thankful for. Why, the very fact that we are alive,
the marvellous fresh breath, the hope for another day. A friend
observed a morning scene from the comfort of a car. A group of
pavement-dwellers brushing their teeth. An old couple, perhaps their
daughter or daughter-in-law, grandchildren, a babe in arms, on the
dirty pavement, themselves positively dirty. All talking to each
other, sharing one brush between two or three of themselves, brushing
with some red powder, perhaps mud. Yet, all so full of joy, laughing,
sharing a joke-a moment of infectious mirth and vigour, the pulse of
life. At that moment their cups were full. Is not happiness so purely
a matter of attitude, wondered the observer.This continued
rememberance of joy and love, of peace and wonder, of beauty and
magic in all things, linking each with the Sadguru's bounty and
power, His compassion and magnificence, would surely keep the spirit
of surrender alive through the day. When we sit for our daily
meditation, to recall that it is His grace which has made it
possible, at the end of the session, to thank Him for it.When we get
onto our vehicle to ride it, remembering that it is He who gives the
ability to do so. When we begin each task, to thank Him for enabling
us to attempt it. At the end of each task to wonder that He has
accomplished it for us. Every time individuality rises its head,
every time the ego becomes rampant saying, 'Look at my capacity, my
ability, my generosity, my alertness, my power, why, even my love',
let us pause. Let us pause and smile, even laugh at ourselves and
ask, 'Your love my dear mind, your peace, your power, your
intelligence, your achievement.? Are you really capable of all this
my little mind? Is your power your own? In a moment you forget the
most vital facts, suddenly you become unhappy over trivialities, you
find yourself unable to come up with the right words, you are
non-plussed to find solutions for a problem, you get irritated with
those whom you hold dear, you believe you have no expectation and yet
want the world. My dear mind, is not your limitation endless? You are
indeed powerless. Yet, you would have me believe that you are
infinitely powerful. I know your tricks only too well now.You are
connected to an infinite powerhouse of happiness and peace,
creativity and energy, of love and compassion. Every now and then you
draw all these from the source and pretend they are your own
treasures. When I fall for your pretence, my little mind, and forget
the source altogether, then I lose all contact with meaning. Yet, the
Sadguru, the Self, the Supreme One is so compassionate that time and
again He revives the connection. Now I will not fall a prey to your
illusion any more. I will remember that it is He, not I that makes
every action, every experience possible'. So saying one can hold on
to the attitude of surrender. Then, if one pauses once more, one can
have a hearty laugh at oneself. 'I will remember that it is He', did
we say? Do we have the strength for that, the strength to remain with
the attitude of surrender? No. That too must come from Him, must it
not? Does this mean we can happily cling to identity because we lack
the courage to surrender? Well, who are we to make this decision
either? Let us stop going round in absurd circles and simply leave
all to Him. When He blesses us with this recognition how light would
be our heart and how full. Does not happiness overflow from your
heart even at the thought, my friend? Do not tears glisten in your
eyes as in mine, tears that spring from the fullness that is Him? And
then shall we both burst forth in laughter that Bhagavan has conned
us? We began by saying that self-enquiry is not our cup of tea, but
what has he given us in its place? The same questioning of the
validity of identity. Only instead of looking for its source within,
we remember time and again that the source is He. Time and again,
mind you. Whenever the ego makes its appearance we must wonder at it,
mock it, we must question it and knock it down. Instead of with the
query 'Who am 'I'?' with the question and statement 'Are you what you
think you are, powerful? No it is He. He is all'. This too requires
unbroken vigilance, does it not? Yes, my dear friend, it is the same
game by another name. Yet, in such magical company who would not
play? Aha! Whose choice is it anyway
?http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Harsha...HarshaSatsangh
Magazine and Website is athttp://www.harshasatsangh.com"Love itself
is the actual form of God."Sri RamanaIn "Letters from Sri
Ramanasramam" by Suri Nagamma

02-29-2004, 02:05 PM

--- In HarshaSatsangh (AT) yahoogroups (DOT) com, "Lady Joyce"
wrote:
> Dear Shawn:
>
> I really enjoyed this. It even makes sense to me. I love it when
things make sense!!!
> While it is true that Ramana is the source, there is something
about this one which
> rings true and is easy to comprehend in relationship to his
teachings.
>
> I did a quick internet search and came up with a lot of
references to a Dr Sarada Natarajan in
> connection with Ramana Maharshi. Is she the Dr. Sarada who
authored this article? And is there a link I can refer to for
copyright purposes?
>
> I would like to link it to my Ramana page on "Bhakti is Jnana
Mata," but I want to be sure that
> I am accurate. Thanks for posting it. I am glad you are still
with us. You had not posted in
> awhile and I was beginning to think that you got lost in a tidal
wave.
>
> Love,
>
> Bhakti toes :-)

Dear toes,
here is where i found it:
http://members.tripod.com/~rmclb/index.htm

if you go to the about the center link and scroll down you will find
a picture of the good doctor. She is the same one.

Glad you liked , me too.

love, Shawn

03-02-2004, 07:57 PM

Dear Shawn Hair

tku for this posting
where did you got it?

all the best

michael bindel
----- Original Message -----
From: Shawn Hair
To: HarshaSatsangh (AT) yahoogroups (DOT) com
Sent: Monday, March 01, 2004 12:02 AM
Subject: [HarshaSatsangh] THE SAME GAME BY ANOTHER NAME
------------------------------------------------------------------------THE
SAME GAME BY ANOTHER NAMEby Dr.Sarada What is your objection, my
friend? You say that you are not interested in knowing about the
'Self'. It seems absurd to you that anyone may propose some
deficiency in your knowledge of yourself, does it not? Where then
does 'self-enquiry' figure? Why on earth the question 'Who am 'I'?'
As for the terms 'awareness' or 'consciousness'-they seem to be Greek
and Latin. So far as you can see consciousness pertains to your
thoughts and emotions, your capacity to think and, of course, your
cognisance of the body and its demands. You are quite convinced that
the 'Ramana Way' is for the spiritual elite, not for laymen like you.
It is quite beyond your understanding. Bhagavan himself may smile and
ask you, 'Well, you believe you exist, is it not? Even in deep sleep?
But, you have no awareness of your body then. You have no thoughts
then, not your fears and ambitions, not your dreams and plans, not
even any knowledge of those who are dearest to you. Surely you have
no thoughts of yourself either then. Yet do you not exist in deep
sleep? What is that 'I' which exists minus knowledge of the body,
minus the mind itself with all the thoughts-the most frivolous and
the most deep rooted?' Despite Bhagavan's asking you may remain
stubborn and fail to investigate, but Bhagavan will not leave you so
easily, he leaves nobody.Bhagavan says in 'Arunachala Ashtakam', 'Oh
Arunachala! You assumed various forms in varying faiths so that all
may know you'. Yes, Bhagavan has been so lenient as to say 'Even a
single effort made to quell a single thought will not go in vain'. He
has encouraged people to follow any path they are used to traversing
provided they are headed in the general direction of self-enquiry and
Self-Knowledge. He has done so because of the certainity that all
paths will finally lead only to self-enquiry. In apparent innocence
he has also suggested that those who cannot (or will not) practise
self-enquiry can follow the path of surrender. 'Apparent innocence'
because in reality there are no two ways, that of self-enquiry and of
surrender. It is the same way, but relative as we are we give it a
different name. We call the same Lord by a thousand names, do we not?
Yet of this later. Right now Bhagavan is asking with the same
sweetness, 'Not interested in self-enquiry? Well then, why don't you
try surrender?' Your defences are down. Self-enquiry you have decided
is not your cup of tea, whether or not it really is, but what is this
new proposition? 'Well' you ask a little tentatively, 'What is
surrender?'Surrender? Surrender is giving up, submitting oneself
entirely. Seems simple on the face of it. After all it is not
difficult to give oneself up to one who is dear, is it not? Seems so
simple in fact that many of us believe we have surrendered. We
believe we accept whatever life brings as a gift from Bhagavan. Yet
are we filled with overflowing joy every moment? Is there no
experience, no moment in our lives that we would wish away or want to
be different? It there no hope, no dream lingering? If there is, it
cannot be surrender. For surrender is no conditions, no
expectations,no questions asked, not even a trace of difference,
absolute acceptance.Surrender is the complete offering of oneself to
the Supreme. It is not even saying, 'Thy will be done', to Him. For,
this indicates that there are two wills, one 'His Will', and one 'our
will'. Where would we retain the right to will after having
surrendered? In surrendering one would have forfeited all rights, the
right to choose, the right to want, the right to act. Yes, even the
right to think, for thought is action. If the Sadguru allots some
work it would be done without a second thought. If no work is one's
lot, silence would reign. There would be no room to ask for the
Sadguru's Grace. There would be no room even to wish for what we
believe to be the 'highest good'. There is the classic trap by
Bhagavan on this issue. Devaraja Mudaliar asked 'Bhagavan, I have
surrendered to you, yet I am making no spiritual progress. Should you
not ensure it?' And Bhagavan joked, 'Whether I do so or not, how can
you question it once you have surrendered?' This is not to say that
Devaraja Mudaliar had not surrendered. He certainly had, but just at
that moment the mind played its trick. Such was his vigilance that he
could catch Bhagavan's point immediately and laugh at himself. Just as
we cannot make demands once we have surrendered, neither can there be
room for the thought 'I have surrendered'. For if 'I' remain, then
surrender is not, even as there is no room for the thought 'I am
doing self-enquiry' in self-enquiry. Such a thought would mean that
an 'I' is assumed and no enquiry is afoot about the validity of the
'I'. So surrender is such complete submission that no individuality
remains. Doesn't this sound dangerously similar to self-enquiry? And
the going doesn't seem so easy after all. If giants like Devaraja
Mudaliar could be tripped on the issue, how could we ever hope to
surrender? Ah, my friend, you are trying to escape again. You are
trying to wriggle out of everything that will put your little
individuality in the remotest danger, are you not? Who would wish to
submit, and that too of one's sweet will, so totally to anyone? True,
the one to whom we surrender may be the most beloved, may be Bhagavan
himself. Still, absolute, unquestioning submission is too high a
price to pay, is it not? True, what we get in return for this
submission may be the infinite bounty of natural bliss, but this is
not a condition of the submission. Why on earth should we surrender?
Just as there seems to be no burning necessity for self-enquiry in
our lives, we may well decide that surrender too is out of place. But
then again, as we have seen, Bhagavan will not leave you so easily, my
friend, neither you nor me, he leaves nobody.So he creates
circumstances where surrender becomes imperative, where we become
aware of our own littleness or helplessness. We are always powerless,
but for the most part live in fools' paradises of imagining ourselves
to be at the helm of affairs, capable of steering our own ships
through the troubled waters of life. And the Sadguru, the Supreme,
the Self allows us too for the most part to wallow in our stupidity,
allows us to asume we are in control of our actions, of our thoughts,
of our lives. Then, out of utmost compassion some events are made to
occur which make us sit up and take notice of that power which is
truly in charge. The event may be something extraordinarily beautiful
and magical that suddenly enters our life. It may make us ask, 'What
have I done to deserve this joy? Why have I been blessed with it?
Surely it is some marvellous Power that has showered this bounty on
me'. The event may also be tragic, or on the brink of the tragic,
some pain which all our efforts cannot soothe and then in despair we
turn to a power beyond ourselves for help. And help we surely find.
Not necessarily in a reversal of the event or its change in a
direction we wish it to take but perhaps simply in our capacity to
face it, to deal with it. In that moment of recognition, in that most
magical moment we can say with our entire being 'Not I, O Lord, but
you are the light of my life, of every life and how marvellously you
steer those million million ships. With what infinite love you attend
to every little need of even the tiniest creature. How gently you
administer sorrow to make us grow beyond our little selves, to soften
us, to make us recognise the infinite beauty of your love. How
lovingly you shower that joy which makes us see your smile in every
flower, in every star, in every face, in tears as in laughter, in
destruction as in the blossoming of life'.Yet, the magical moment of
recognition may pass. Even as the vigilance of enquiry wanes, even as
we get back to the habit of identification, we may get back to the
habit of authority and surrender too may be forgotten. So with equal
gentleness, with equal firmness, Bhagavan asks us to keep at
surrender. Surrender may not be total to begin with, he says with his
customary lenience, it must then be cultivated. One can start by
consciously striving to surrender, as he clarifies in 'Upadesa
Saram', not only the fruits of our actions but the actions themselves
by recognising that His Power alone makes all things possible.Let us
look at a day that is governed by the attitude of surrender even as
we looked at a day that has the undercurrent of self-enquiry. We wake
up to some thoughts surely for we have not exercised any particular
effort to watch for the experience prior to thoughts. We may awake
with that thought which is predominant in our mind, usually the last
thought we had before falling asleep. If this is a happy thought, if
it invigorates us, then at that very point let us recall also the
mood of surrender. Let us thank Bhagavan for giving us that lovely
thought. If, on the other hand it is a sad thought, instead of
wallowing deeper in the grief let us turn to Bhagavan with the
prayer, 'Yours is all power, so give me the strength to turn away
from these disturbing thoughts'. This attitude of surrender, of
remembering Bhagavan's underlying power may be adapted not just in
the morning but whenever thoughts flood our mind.Next we may proceed
with the morning's routine tasks. Let us not fail to remember His
bounty even in these simple deeds. Isn't it wonderful that we have
teeth to brush, hands to brush them with, eyes to behold the wonder
of the rising sun, the sense of touch to feel the morning breeze,
tongue to taste the warmth of the coffee or tea, a stomach that can
digest it, understanding to grasp what is written in the morning
paper? Oh, we have a million things to be thankful for. Surely, even
if a few from that list of million are missing, we would always have
something to be thankful for. Why, the very fact that we are alive,
the marvellous fresh breath, the hope for another day. A friend
observed a morning scene from the comfort of a car. A group of
pavement-dwellers brushing their teeth. An old couple, perhaps their
daughter or daughter-in-law, grandchildren, a babe in arms, on the
dirty pavement, themselves positively dirty. All talking to each
other, sharing one brush between two or three of themselves, brushing
with some red powder, perhaps mud. Yet, all so full of joy, laughing,
sharing a joke-a moment of infectious mirth and vigour, the pulse of
life. At that moment their cups were full. Is not happiness so purely
a matter of attitude, wondered the observer.This continued
rememberance of joy and love, of peace and wonder, of beauty and
magic in all things, linking each with the Sadguru's bounty and
power, His compassion and magnificence, would surely keep the spirit
of surrender alive through the day. When we sit for our daily
meditation, to recall that it is His grace which has made it
possible, at the end of the session, to thank Him for it.When we get
onto our vehicle to ride it, remembering that it is He who gives the
ability to do so. When we begin each task, to thank Him for enabling
us to attempt it. At the end of each task to wonder that He has
accomplished it for us. Every time individuality rises its head,
every time the ego becomes rampant saying, 'Look at my capacity, my
ability, my generosity, my alertness, my power, why, even my love',
let us pause. Let us pause and smile, even laugh at ourselves and
ask, 'Your love my dear mind, your peace, your power, your
intelligence, your achievement.? Are you really capable of all this
my little mind? Is your power your own? In a moment you forget the
most vital facts, suddenly you become unhappy over trivialities, you
find yourself unable to come up with the right words, you are
non-plussed to find solutions for a problem, you get irritated with
those whom you hold dear, you believe you have no expectation and yet
want the world. My dear mind, is not your limitation endless? You are
indeed powerless. Yet, you would have me believe that you are
infinitely powerful. I know your tricks only too well now.You are
connected to an infinite powerhouse of happiness and peace,
creativity and energy, of love and compassion. Every now and then you
draw all these from the source and pretend they are your own
treasures. When I fall for your pretence, my little mind, and forget
the source altogether, then I lose all contact with meaning. Yet, the
Sadguru, the Self, the Supreme One is so compassionate that time and
again He revives the connection. Now I will not fall a prey to your
illusion any more. I will remember that it is He, not I that makes
every action, every experience possible'. So saying one can hold on
to the attitude of surrender. Then, if one pauses once more, one can
have a hearty laugh at oneself. 'I will remember that it is He', did
we say? Do we have the strength for that, the strength to remain with
the attitude of surrender? No. That too must come from Him, must it
not? Does this mean we can happily cling to identity because we lack
the courage to surrender? Well, who are we to make this decision
either? Let us stop going round in absurd circles and simply leave
all to Him. When He blesses us with this recognition how light would
be our heart and how full. Does not happiness overflow from your
heart even at the thought, my friend? Do not tears glisten in your
eyes as in mine, tears that spring from the fullness that is Him? And
then shall we both burst forth in laughter that Bhagavan has conned
us? We began by saying that self-enquiry is not our cup of tea, but
what has he given us in its place? The same questioning of the
validity of identity. Only instead of looking for its source within,
we remember time and again that the source is He. Time and again,
mind you. Whenever the ego makes its appearance we must wonder at it,
mock it, we must question it and knock it down. Instead of with the
query 'Who am 'I'?' with the question and statement 'Are you what you
think you are, powerful? No it is He. He is all'. This too requires
unbroken vigilance, does it not? Yes, my dear friend, it is the same
game by another name. Yet, in such magical company who would not
play? Aha! Whose choice is it anyway
?http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Harsha...HarshaSatsangh
Magazine and Website is athttp://www.harshasatsangh.com"Love itself
is the actual form of God."Sri RamanaIn "Letters from Sri
Ramanasramam" by Suri Nagamma

03-03-2004, 02:12 PM

--- In HarshaSatsangh (AT) yahoogroups (DOT) com, "Michael Bindel"
wrote:
> Dear Shawn Hair
>
> tku for this posting
> where did you got it?
>
> all the best
>
> michael bindel

You're most welcome, Michael.

here is the link;

http://members.tripod.com/~rmclb/ramanaway.htm

~Shawn

03-03-2004, 05:23 PM

thank yous so much Shawn
michael bindel
----- Original Message -----
From: "Shawn Hair"
To:
Sent: Thursday, March 04, 2004 4:12 AM
Subject: [HarshaSatsangh] Re: THE SAME GAME BY ANOTHER NAME

> --- In HarshaSatsangh (AT) yahoogroups (DOT) com, "Michael Bindel"
> wrote:
> > Dear Shawn Hair
> >
> > tku for this posting
> > where did you got it?
> >
> > all the best
> >
> > michael bindel
>
>
> You're most welcome, Michael.
>
> here is the link;
>
> http://members.tripod.com/~rmclb/ramanaway.htm
>
> ~Shawn
>
>
>
> http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HarshaSatsangh/join
>
> HarshaSatsangh Magazine and Website is at
>
> http://www.harshasatsangh.com
>
> "Love itself is the actual form of God."
>
> Sri Ramana
>
> In "Letters from Sri Ramanasramam" by Suri Nagamma
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>