The Mountain Path
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
Arunachala! Thou dost root out the ego of those who meditate on Thee in the heart Oh Arunachala! The Mountain Path My mind has blossomed, (then) scent it with Thy fragrance and perfect it, Oh Arunachala ! (A QUARTERLY) —The Marital Garland of Letters, verse 69 " Arunachala ! Thou dost root out the ego of those who meditate on Thee in the heart, Oh Arunachala! " — The Marital Garland of Letters, verse 1. Publisher : T. N. Venkataraman, President, Board of Trustees, Sri Ramanasramam, Vol. 18 JANUARY 1981 No. I Tiruvannamalai. ft Editorial Board : CONTENTS Prof. K. Swaminathan Sri K. K. Nambiar Page Mrs. Lucy Cornelssen Smt. Shanta Rungachary EDITORIAL: The Unity of Surrender and Dr. K. Subrahmanian Sri Jim Grant Self-Enquiry .. 1 Sri David Godman Maharshi and His Message — Swami Ranganathananda .. 7 ft The Maharshi and Muruganar Managing Editor: — Prof. K. Swaminathan .. 9 V. Ganesan, On the Now — Wolter A. Keers .. 13 Sri Ramanasramam, How I Came to Bhagavan — Major Chadwick .. 16 Tiruvannamalai J. Krishnamurti's Concept of Meditation ft — Dr. R. K. Shringy .. 18 Annual Subscription : Garland of Guru's Sayings—Sri Muruganar INDIA RS. 10 Tr. by Prof. K. Swaminathan .. 24 FOREIGN £ 2.00 $ 4.00 The Quaker Faith .. 26 Life Subscription Meditation for Peace of Mind Rs. 125 £ 25.00 $ 50 — K. Padmanabhan .. 31 Single Copy : Conversations with Sri Ramana Maharshi Rs. 2.75 £ 0.60 $ 1.25 — Swami Madhavathirtha .. 33 * Excerpts from Delhi Seminar .. 35 Book Reviews .. 39 All letters and remittances to be sent to : The Managing Editor, Ashram Bulletin .. 47 14 The Mountain Path ", Sri Ramanasramam, P.O., Cover Design by Gopi Kamath. Tiruvannamalai-606 603, S. India. Contributors are requested to give the exact data as far as possible for quotations used, i.e. source (A QUARTERLY) and page number, and also the meaning if from another language. It would simplify matters. Arti• The aim of this journal is to sot cles should not exceed 10 pages. forth the traditional wisdom of all All remittances should be sent to the MANAGING religions and all ages, especially EDITOR and not to the Editor. as testified to by their saints and — Editor. mystics, and to clarify the paths available to seekers in the condi• tions of our modern world. To Our Subscribers Contributions for publicatioL 1. The official year of the quarterly is from January should be addressed to The Editor, to December. The Mountain Path, Sri Ramanas- ramam, Tiruvannamalai, Tamil 2. SUBSCRIBERS IN INDIA should remit their annual Nadu. They should be in English subscription by Money Order only as far as possible and not and typed with double spacing. by cheque. The words 'subscription for The Mountain Path Contributions not published will be for year/years * should be written on the M.O. returned on request. coupon and the full name and address written in BLOCK LETTERS on the reverse of the coupon. Life Subscription should be sent by cheque drawn favouring The Mountain Path and crossed. The editor is not responsible for 1 siatements and opinions contained The journal will not be sent by V.P.P. in signed articles. 3. FOREIGN SUBSCRIBERS can send their subscrip• tion by International Money Order, British Postal Order or by Bank cheque or draft payable in India, U.S.A. or U.K. The subscription rates are for despatch of the journal No payment is made for contri by surface mail to all parts of the world. butions published. Anything herein If despatch by AIR MAIL is desired the following published may be reprinted else• additional annual amount should be remitted : where without fee provided due acknowledgement is made and the editor is previously notified. AIR-MAIL SURCHARGE I. Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Pakistan, Contributions are accepted only Ceylon 1.00 2.00 on condition that they do not appear elsewhere before being pub• II. Austria, Australia, Belgium, Denmark, lished in The Mountain Path. They Czechoslovakia, West Germany, can be published later elsewhere Italy, Greece, Japan, Netherlands, but only with acknowledgement to East and South Africa, Egypt, The Mountain Path. France, Great Britain, Sweden .. 2.00 4.00 m. North, Central and South America, Canada, New Zealand, Fiji, Hawaii 2.50 5.C0 THE MOUNTAIN PATH (All the abov« surcharges aro over and above the annual is dedicated to lubccr lotto*.) Bhagavan Sri Raman* Maharshi The Mountain Path Vol. 18, No. I, January 1981 EDITORIAL The Unity of Surrender and Self-Enquiry QNE of Ramana Maharshi's most frequent nating them, to illustrate the profundity of comments was that there were only two Ramana's real teachings. reliable methods for attaining Self-Realization; one could either pursue Self-enquiry or one The most convenient starting poinc for this could surrender. An almost equally common enquiry is the relationship that exists between statement was that jnand and bhakthi are ulti• Ramana Maharshi, the Guru, and the thou• mately the same. This second statement is sands of people who call themselves his devo• usually interpreted to mean that whichever of tees. There is a long tradition in this country the two paths one chooses to follow, the ulti• of people accepting certain teachers as their mate goal and the culminating experience will gurus, and then proclaiming immediately that be the same. It is generally assumed that the they have surrendered to them. In most cases, two paths do not converge until the moment this surrender is only a statement of intent, or of Realisation is reached. However, if Ramana at best, there is a partial surrendering to this Maharshi's teachings are correctly interpreted, new authority figure in the hope of acquiring then it will be seen that the paths of surrender some material or spiritual reward. Ramana's and Self-enquiry merge before Realisation, and opposition to this type of religious bribery that in the higher levels of practice, if one was quite clear, and it is best summed up in follows the path of surrender, then one's the following statement: " Surrender to Him sadhdna will be the same as that of someone and abide by His will whether he appears or who has chosen the path of Self-enquiry. vanishes; await His pleasure. If you ask Him This may seem very radical at first sight, but to do as you please, it is not surrender but this is only because of the general misconcep• command to Him. You cannot have Him tions that many people have about Ramana's obey you and yet think that you have sur• teachings on the true nature, meaning and rendered. He knows what is best and when practice of surrender. In order to eliminate and how to do it. Leave everything to Him; these misconceptions, and to clarify Ramana's His is the burden, you no longer have any attitude and approach to surrender, it will be cares. All your cares are His. Such is sur• helpful to examine some of these commonly render. This is bhakthi." {Talks, p. 425). held ideas in the light of Ramana's statements This statement, typical of many that he made on the subject, firstly to show how unfounded is a categorical refutation of the idea that one most of these ideas are, and secondly, by elimi• can surrender to one's God or Guru, and yet 2 THE MOUNTAIN PATH January still demand that the God or Guru fulfils one's those who are not ready for complete sur• desires or solves one's problems. Despite this render, there is this intermediate practice of often repeated refutation, it is probably true surrendering one's problems to the external to say that the majority of Ramana's devotees "Higher Power." It is not a dilution of his both believe that they have surrendered to notion that surrender must be complete and Ramana, yet at the same time, would not total to be effective, it is more an admission hesitate to approach him with their personal that for some devotees, such a massive step is and material problems, especially if the per• impractical without some lesser intermediate ceived need required an urgent solution. In stage. Ramana's teachings on surrender, there is no room for stray desires, and no room for expec• If we can reach this point where we accept tations of miracles, no matter how desperate that we cannot ask Ramana to solve our the situation might appear to be. Ramana problems and still claim that we have surren• says: dered, then we move forward a few steps in our understanding of his teachings, but if we " If you have surrendered, you must be able then try to put our new understanding into to abide by the will of God and not make a practice, we immediately encounter a new and grievance out of what may not please you." apparently insoluble problem. The problem is (Talks, p. 115). that the desire to surrender is in itself a desire which we want fulfilled, and since, according Under Ramana's strict interpretation of to Ramana, true surrender cannot be accom• absolute surrender, the only appeals which plished without complete desirelessness, the might qualify for approval are those where presence of this desire in us is sufficient to the devotee approaches the God or Guru with prevent true surrender from taking place. It the attitude " This is your problem and not is the paradox of effort which is inherent in mine; please attend to it in any way you see nearly all forms of sadhdna. Simply stated, fit." This attitude bears the marks of partial the problem is that there is a perception that surrender, for it fulfils the bare minimum there is an individual self which wants to extin• requirements of Ramana's definition of true guish itself so that the state of Realisation surrender.