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

Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi
That which is does not even say ‘I am’. For, does any doubt rise that
‘I am not’? Only in such a case should one be reminding oneself
‘I am a man’. One does not. On the other hand, if a doubt arises
whether he is a cow or a buffalo he has to remind himself that
he is not a cow, etc., but ‘I am a man.’ This would never happen.
Similarly with one’s own existence and realisation.
10th June, 1936
Talk 198.
Some ladies asked if there is rebirth of man as a lower animal.
M.: Yes. It is possible, as illustrated by Jada Bharata - the scriptural
anecdote of a royal sage, having been reborn as a deer.
D.: Is the individual capable of spiritual progress in the animal body?
M.: Not unlikely, though it is exceedingly rare
D.: What is Guru’s Grace? How does it work?
M.: Guru is the Self.
D.: How does it lead to realisation?
M.: Isvaro gururatmeti ... (God is the same as Guru and Self ...). A
person begins with dissatisfaction. Not content with the world he
seeks satisfaction of desires by prayers to God; his mind is purified;
he longs to know God more than to satisfy his carnal desires. Then
God’s Grace begins to manifest. God takes the form of a Guru and
appears to the devotee; teaches him the Truth; purifies the mind by his
teachings and contact; the mind gains strength, is able to turn inward;
with meditation it is purified yet further, and eventually remains still
without the least ripple. That stillness is the Self. The Guru is both
exterior and interior. From the exterior he gives a push to the mind
to turn inward; from the interior he pulls the mind towards the Self
and helps the mind to achieve quietness. That is Grace.
Hence there is no difference between God, Guru and Self.
Talk 199.
The ladies later asked several questions relating to their present
inability to realise the already realised, eternal Self. The sign of
Realisation would be Bliss, which was absent.
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