Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi Complete ... - BrahminVoice.org

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
is no fruit without previous karma; no karma without previous
sankalpa. Even mukti must be the result of effort so long as the
sense of doership persists.
Talk 117.
A Ceylonese: What is the first step for Realisation of Self? Please help
me towards it. There is no use reading books.
Another: This one man’s request is that of us all.
M.: Quite so. If the Self be found in books it would have been already
realised. What wonder can be greater than that we seek the Self in
books? Can it be found there?
Of course books have given readers the sense to ask this question
and to seek the Self.
D.: Books are utterly useless. They may all be burnt. The spoken
word alone is useful. Grace alone is useful.
Others spoke according to their own light, until finally they returned
to the original question, but Sri Bhagavan remained silent.
Talk 118.
Mr. Rangachari, a Telugu Pandit in Voorhees’ College at Vellore, asked
about nishkama karma. There was no reply. After a time Sri Bhagavan
went up the hill and a few followed him, including the pandit. There
was a thorny stick lying on the way which Sri Bhagavan picked up;
he sat down and began leisurely to work at it. The thorns were cut
off, the knots were made smooth, the whole stick was polished with a
rough leaf. The whole operation took about six hours. Everyone was
wondering at the fine appearance of the stick made of a spiky material.
A shepherd boy put in his appearance on the way as the group moved
off. He had lost his stick and was at a loss. Sri Bhagavan immediately
gave the new one in his hand to the boy and passed on.
The pandit said that this was the matter-of-fact answer to his question.
Talk 119.
Again at the same time there were four dogs in the Asramam. Sri
Bhagavan said that those dogs would not accept any food not partaken
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