Trust in the Power of the Self

Sri Lakshmana Swamy

Q: You sometimes say that it is good to concentrate on the name and form of an enlightened one. We cannot tell who is enlightened and who is not. What happens if we concentrate on the name and form of someone who is not enlightened?

LS: Such people can help you to reach the level that they themselves have reached, but they cannot take you beyond. Such people cannot give you Self-realization.

Q: So there is some process of transference of spiritual power when we concentrate on an enlightened one?

LS: Yes. If you can be constantly aware of an enlightened one then the grace of the Self will pour into you because the enlightened one is not apart from the Self.

Q: But how can we tell who is enlightened and who is not?

LS: You cannot, that is the problem. If you saw this girl (pointing to Saradamma) walking down the road, would you recognize her as an enlightened one?

Q: No.

LS: That is because you only see her body and her personality. If you were a jnani you would immediately recognize that she had realized the Self. You would know that so far as her realization is concerned she is in the same state as Ramana Maharshi. I have been telling people for six years that she is a jnani, but very few people believe me. They look at her body and her personality and decide that such a person cannot possibly be a jnani. If you try to evaluate Sarada with your mind you will never see that she has realized the Self.

Q: So only a jnani can tell who else is a jnani?

LS: If you still have a mind, then you cannot tell who is a jnani and who is not. You cannot identify a jnani by what he says or does because these are mind judgments. A jnani can identify another jnani only because he himself has no mind. In that state he can easily recognize other enlightened ones whose minds are dead.

Q: So prior to Self-realization there is no way to recognize a jnani?

LS: If you are a very advanced devotee who can make the mind dive into the Self and temporarily disappear, you may be able to recognize a jnani; but only in that state when your mind is absent. When the mind reappears this ability will be lost.

Q: So how is it possible for a devotee to select a competent Guru, one who has realized the Self?

LS: It is very difficult. You must have faith in the person you believe to be a Guru. Love him and trust in the power of the Self within.