"Those Who Are Here Need Not Worry About Salvation"

Sri Ramana Maharshi

15-4-1946 Morning

In the afternoon I was reading a recent issue of Prabuddha Bharata. There I found that one disciple asked Shivananda, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, “It is said Paramahamsa once said, ‘Those who have come here will have no more births.’ Did you hear him say so? What does it mean? Will only those who came to him and saw in the flesh and worshipped him be saved, or even those who have only heard about him and worshipped him?” It is said Shivananda replied, “The above remark of Paramahamsa is found in all the books and it means that both classes of people will be saved, provided however they have surrendered unto him.” 

I pointed out, “All that Paramahamsa said was, ‘Those who have come here will have salvation.’ Why do these people make this addition, ‘provided they surrender unto him?’ If a man makes complete surrender to God, Self or Guru he is of course saved. That is well known. To a man who is able to make complete surrender, sat sang is superfluous.” 

Bhagavan said, “When Paramahamsa said ‘People who come here’ the words really imply ‘People who have come and surrendered themselves here’.” I said, “If he meant it, would he not have said so? I believe there are people, to approach whom, is to obtain salvation, whether we are able to surrender completely or not. Did not all the crowd that went to attend Saint Sambandar’s marriage, including the pipers and drummers, get salvation? The drummer and piper had no idea of making complete surrender.” Bhagavan remained silent. Then he said, “It is said Sundarar got a vimana and went to heaven and that he invited others to join him, but that none came forward. But in Tukaram’s life it is said that he went to heaven with his body and that he took twenty-one people with him.” To look up this last reference, I brought Bhakta Vijayam in Tamil and Bhagavan read how Tukaram, before going to heaven with his body, invited everyone to go with him and, after seven days, he went with twenty-two people to Heaven. 

In this connection, I told Bhagavan, “It has come down as a sort of tradition, and I have also heard it said, that Bhagavan once told some disciples that those who are here (i.e., with Bhagavan) need not worry about their salvation, even as upper class passengers, having informed the guard, may quietly go to sleep in their berths and will be awakened and detrained at their destination by the guard. I have not been able to find out when, where and to whom Bhagavan said words to the above effect.” Bhagavan said nothing in reply. But so far as I am concerned, the fact that he did not deny it in words or by facial expression is enough to convince me that Bhagavan must have, in some unguarded moment, uttered these words (of great hope to lazy men like me).