(from Sri Ramana Remiscences by G.V.Subbaramayya):
G.V. Subbaramayya: On October 31st 1937, my two-year old daughter Indira suffered two fits, the second more severe than the first. Suddenly she became unconscious, all vital organs stopped functioning and she seemed practically dead. The allopathic doctor declared his helplessness and advised Ayurvedic treatment. Branding between the eyebrows by an old man with his lighted tobacco-pipe made the child moan feebly and slightly revived the vital functions. Still she did not rally but lay moribund. Two ayurvedic physicians sent for, one after another, could not be found. At this crisis my eye lighted upon the picture of Sri Bhagavan, and I prostrated saying within, “O Bhagavan, all human aid having failed, you alone must save her.”
Getting up, I mechanically opened the drawer, took out a telegraph form, and sent an express message praying for Sri Bhagavan’s Grace upon the child. The telegraph authorities sent word that the message would reach the Ashram at 7 p.m. Precisely at 7 p.m. both the ayurvedic physicians arrived simultaneously and Sri V. V. Narayanappa also came, put into my hands an envelope addressed to me, and said, “Here is Sri Bhagavan’s Prasad for the child.” It struck me as a miraculous response of Sri Bhagavan to my prayer. Sri Narayanappa explained that it was the Prasad which I had got for him the previous year when he had been ill, and which he had preserved in the same envelope. He felt he should make use of it for the ailing child. The two doctors consulting together treated the child and assured me that she was out of danger.
That night, sleeping beside the child, I had a marvellous dream. I was in Sri Bhagavan’s Hall. Sri Bhagavan was reclining on His couch as usual. In front of Him stood a dark, fierce-looking person of gigantic stature. Sri Bhagavan with His forefinger motioned to him three times to leave the Hall. Accordingly the stranger left by the first entrance. Then Sri Bhagavan turned to me, called me near and enquired, “How is your child?” I replied, “Bhagavan, by Your Grace, she is better.” Then Sri Bhagavan said, “She will be all right, don’t fear,” and put His hand on my back. At His touch I thrilled and the dream melted. The next morning I received the following reply from the Ashram. “Received your wire last night at 7 p.m. and it was perused by Sri Bhagavan. We assure you of Sri Bhagavan’s blessings on the child that she may recover. Pray be not anxious.”
In reply to my letter relating the above incident and the dream, the Ashram authorities wrote: “We are very glad to note that through Sri Bhagavan’s Grace your child recovered from almost a critical state. It is Sri Bhagavan’s Grace, and indicates the mystery of the working of His benign Grace and your deep devotion.” During Christmas, when I again visited the Ashram, I asked Sri Bhagavan what He thought on reading my telegram. He merely said, “Yes, I read your message and also noted that the clock was then striking seven.”
I persisted, asking, “Sri Bhagavan, did you not think that you must do something to save the child?” Straight came Sri Bhagavan’s reply, “Even the thought to save the child is a sankalpa (will), and one who has any sankalpa is no Jnani. In fact such thinking is unnecessary. The moment the Jnani’s eye falls upon a thing, there starts a divine, automatic action which itself leads to the highest good.”
The conversation was all in Telugu except the English phrase ‘divine, automatic action’ which Sri Bhagavan Himself uttered....
(Later in the book): In the evening Sri Bhagavan recalled a marvellous occurrence. He said, “Some time ago, a paralytic was brought in a conveyance and brought into the Hall in the arms of some persons and placed before me. I was looking at him as usual. After about half an hour, the man with some effort got up by himself, prostrated, and rising came forward and handed to me a notebook. I found it to be his horoscope wherein it was stated that he would have darshan of a Mahatma by whose Grace he would be cured miraculously. Then man after expressing his fervent gratitude walked by himself to his conveyance outside the Hall. All people present were struck with wonder which I also shared because I had not consciously done anything for him. Now Sri Bhagavan again repeated that a Jnani could not have any sankalpa (will) of his own
=========
Vira Chandra: Sri Ramana Maharshi directly challenges the core Mahayana ideal of the Bodhisattva- the deliberate vow and personal sankalpa to save all beings. While the Bodhisattva ideal centers around compassion manifested as a purposeful, personal effort and vow to liberate all sentient beings, Ramana Maharshi teaches that even this noble desire is rooted in the subtle duality of individuality (ego) and implies separation.
The Jnani's compassion, in contrast, is not born of personal intention but arises spontaneously, effortlessly, and naturally from the realization of absolute Oneness. The Jnani's mere existence, the pure glance of their awareness, automatically blesses the universe and guides beings toward liberation without any deliberate intent. There is no sankalpa to save others, because from the Jnani’s standpoint there are no "others."
This essential teaching reveals a deep contradiction with the Mahayana path: Bodhisattva Ideal - this is personal vow (sankalpa) to save others, reflecting compassionate action rooted in subtle duality. While jnani's Realization Transcends all personal will and intentional action; Grace flows spontaneously from non-dual Presence alone.
The Bodhisattva approach, while deeply extermally beautiful, still involves subtle ego-based effort and duality, whereas the Jnani's state embodies true Advaitic compassion: spontaneous, effortless, and non-dual, beyond any individual will.
Thus, Ramana’s teaching here is indeed crucial: it reveals a profound and subtle limitation inherent even in the highest idealism of Mahayana Buddhism, and points directly to the supreme state beyond all concepts = pure Being, from which true Grace naturally emanates.
When one recognizes and trusts this divine automatic action, the heart is freed from anxiety and doubt, resting securely in the assurance that the Self alone knows and accomplishes all that is truly beneficial. Even the noblest acts, such as the intention to save a child or alleviate suffering, when arising from personal sankalpa (individual will), subtly reinforce duality and identification with the egoic self. While compassion is deeply beautiful and natural, the critical point Ramana Maharshi emphasizes here is that personalized compassion—the sense of "I must save or help"—is itself a subtle obstacle to fully abiding as the Self.
True Jnana, according to Maharshi, is a state beyond even the highest ethical intention or noblest desire. The supreme compassion of the Jnani is not an act or intention, but an effortless, spontaneous radiation of the Self. Only in the absence of personal will can Grace flow perfectly and unconditionally.
Thus, from this highest perspective, even well-intentioned and noble sankalpas must eventually be transcended, allowing one's heart to rest in complete surrender, trust, and silence. In that silence, divine automatic action occurs effortlessly, always leading to the highest good, beyond our limited understanding.
Ramana Maharshi gently but firmly guides us to see that the most profound compassion is not to do something personally, but rather to dissolve the illusion of personal doership altogether, allowing the infinite, unconditional Grace of the Self to freely manifest.
No comments:
Post a Comment