Grace is Always There - 5

Sri Ramana Maharshi

Source: Guru Ramana, Residual Reminiscences (Cohen, S.)

Four, five, six months have elapsed since my arrival. I waited, but began to notice a new turn in the working of my mind, a thing which I had not felt before, a peculiar, slow but extremely subtle movement was taking place within my consciousness and I wondered what it could be, and whether the Maharshi was aware of it as well. Seeing me from close quarters, always near the foot of his couch, I thought, was easier for him to guess than if I were at greater distance. Obviously, the notion that the guru always watched his disciples continued lurking in my head. But in fact, as I discovered later, Bhagavan was doing nothing of the kind. He was Supreme Detachment incarnate.

The strict aloofness which appeared to me at first as sheer callousness on the part of the Maharshi, standing against the traditional concern said to be shown by the gurus to promote the spiritual advancement of their disciples, turned out across the years to be more potent in its action to purify, reform, guide and mature the disciples' consciousness than the guru's conscious interference.