Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
Q: When a truth-seeker earnestly practices his Yogas, does his inner Guru guide and help him or does he leave him to his own resources, just waiting for the outcome?
M: All happens by itself. Neither the seeker nor the Guru do anything. Thing happen as they happen; blame or praise are apportioned later, after the sense of doership appearing.
Q: How strange! The doer comes before the deed.
M: It it is the other way round; the deed is a fact, the doer a mere concept. Your very language shows that while the deed is certain, the doer is dubious; shifting responsibility is a game peculiarly human. Considering the endless list of factors required for anything to happen, one can only admit that everything is responsible for everything, however remote. Doership is a myth born from the illusion of 'me' and the 'mine.
Q: How powerful the illusion!
M: No doubt, because based on reality.
Q: What is real in it?
M: Find out, by discerning and rejecting all that is unreal.
Q: I have not understood well the role of the inner self in spiritual endeavor. Who makes the effort? Is it the outer self, or the inner?
M: You have invented words like effort, inner, outer, self etc. and seek to impose them on reality. Things just happen to be as they are, but we want to build them into a pattern, laid down by the structure of our language. So strong is this habit, that we tend to deny reality to what cannot be verbalized. We just refuse to see that words are mere symbols, related by convention and habit to repeated experiences.
Q: What is the value of spiritual books?
M: They help in dispelling ignorance. They are useful in the beginning, but become a hindrance in the end. One must know when to discard them.
Q: What is the link between atma and sattva, between the Self and the universal harmony?
M: As between the sun and its rays. Harmony and beauty, understanding and affection are all expressions of reality. It is reality in action, the impact of the spirit on matter. Tamas obscures, rajas distorts, sattva harmonizes. With the maturing of the sattva all desires and fears come to an end. The real being is reflected in the mind undistorted. Matter is redeemed, spirit - revealed. The two are seen as one. They were always one, but the imperfect mind saw them as two. Perfection of the mind is the human task, for matter and spirit meet in the mind.
Q: I feel like a man before a door. I know the door is open but it is guarded by the dogs of desire
and fear. What am I to do?
M: Obey the teacher and brave the dogs. Behave as if they were not there. Again, obedience is the golden rule. Freedom is won by obedience. To escape from prison one must unquestioningly obey instructions sent by those who work for one's release.
Q: The words of the guru, when merely heard, have little power. One must have faith to obey them. What creates such faith?
M: When the time comes, faith comes. Everything comes in time. The guru is always ready to share, but there are no takers.
Q: Yes, Sri Ramana Maharshi used to say: Gurus there are many, but where are the disciples?
M: Well, in the course of time everything happens. All will come through, not a single soul (jiva) shall be lost.
Q: I am very much afraid of taking intellectual understanding for realization. I may talk of truth without knowing it, and may know it without a single word said.
I understand these conversations are going to be published. What will be their effect on the reader?
M: In the attentive and thoughtful reader they will ripen and bring out flowers and fruits. Words based on truth, if fully tested, have their own power.
Q: When a truth-seeker earnestly practices his Yogas, does his inner Guru guide and help him or does he leave him to his own resources, just waiting for the outcome?
M: All happens by itself. Neither the seeker nor the Guru do anything. Thing happen as they happen; blame or praise are apportioned later, after the sense of doership appearing.
Q: How strange! The doer comes before the deed.
M: It it is the other way round; the deed is a fact, the doer a mere concept. Your very language shows that while the deed is certain, the doer is dubious; shifting responsibility is a game peculiarly human. Considering the endless list of factors required for anything to happen, one can only admit that everything is responsible for everything, however remote. Doership is a myth born from the illusion of 'me' and the 'mine.
Q: How powerful the illusion!
M: No doubt, because based on reality.
Q: What is real in it?
M: Find out, by discerning and rejecting all that is unreal.
Q: I have not understood well the role of the inner self in spiritual endeavor. Who makes the effort? Is it the outer self, or the inner?
M: You have invented words like effort, inner, outer, self etc. and seek to impose them on reality. Things just happen to be as they are, but we want to build them into a pattern, laid down by the structure of our language. So strong is this habit, that we tend to deny reality to what cannot be verbalized. We just refuse to see that words are mere symbols, related by convention and habit to repeated experiences.
Q: What is the value of spiritual books?
M: They help in dispelling ignorance. They are useful in the beginning, but become a hindrance in the end. One must know when to discard them.
Q: What is the link between atma and sattva, between the Self and the universal harmony?
M: As between the sun and its rays. Harmony and beauty, understanding and affection are all expressions of reality. It is reality in action, the impact of the spirit on matter. Tamas obscures, rajas distorts, sattva harmonizes. With the maturing of the sattva all desires and fears come to an end. The real being is reflected in the mind undistorted. Matter is redeemed, spirit - revealed. The two are seen as one. They were always one, but the imperfect mind saw them as two. Perfection of the mind is the human task, for matter and spirit meet in the mind.
Q: I feel like a man before a door. I know the door is open but it is guarded by the dogs of desire
and fear. What am I to do?
M: Obey the teacher and brave the dogs. Behave as if they were not there. Again, obedience is the golden rule. Freedom is won by obedience. To escape from prison one must unquestioningly obey instructions sent by those who work for one's release.
Q: The words of the guru, when merely heard, have little power. One must have faith to obey them. What creates such faith?
M: When the time comes, faith comes. Everything comes in time. The guru is always ready to share, but there are no takers.
Q: Yes, Sri Ramana Maharshi used to say: Gurus there are many, but where are the disciples?
M: Well, in the course of time everything happens. All will come through, not a single soul (jiva) shall be lost.
Q: I am very much afraid of taking intellectual understanding for realization. I may talk of truth without knowing it, and may know it without a single word said.
I understand these conversations are going to be published. What will be their effect on the reader?
M: In the attentive and thoughtful reader they will ripen and bring out flowers and fruits. Words based on truth, if fully tested, have their own power.
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