Ramana and Sri Aurobindo
As mentioned on my Zaadz blog, a week ago I saw Gangaji, who I had only recently discovered in a local free New Age newspaper Living Now (Nov 2006; Vic issue no.90).
I was quite impressed by her talk published in the issue of Living Now; it reminded me a lot of Da Free John in the subtle wording (note: superficially these two gurus couldn't be further apart!!!!), implying that like Da, Gangaji had attained the Intermediate Zone. Since very few do (and far far fewer actually go beyond to become a sadguru), and since she was talking just up the road from me, i decided to go along. I decided that I would sincerely aspire to receive what Light I could. And indeed I did! My summation of Gangaji is here. The amazing thing is that through this transmission of presence, I was able to access Sri Ramana Maharshi's Light and revelation. And that was and is simply amazing!
I had previously heard of and respected Ramana, but wasn't very interested in him, because his teachings were of the "old school" whereas I was and am more interested in the "new yoga" of integral transformation and supramentalisation taught by Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. It took a direct (or indirect, via Gangaji via her guru Papaji who was a devotee of Ramana) transmission for "the scales to fall from my eyes" and for me to realise Ramana's status as avatar and sadguru.
Interestingly, the way I received Ramana's Light is very different to how I received Sri Aurobindo and The Mother's Light. I was first connected to the twin integral avatars via my uncle, who mentioned them in a letter to my mother when I was only 12 or 13, although it was to be some years before that realisation would flower. With Ramana I was already much more spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually mature, and so when Gangaji presented the transmission I was able - through great aspiration (although not really as great as it should have been, because of ego and desire) - to receive it.
A few days later I went down to the local Theosophical Bookshop and bought two books on Ramana; reading them and looking at his photo further strengthened the connection.
Intellectually, Ramana and Sri Aurobindo could not be further apart. Ramana rejects the Aurobindonian position; Sri Aurobindo's teachings include and transcend Ramana's nondualism.
Spiritually, once one gets beyond these words, which includes even getting beyond even Maharshi's and Sri Aurobindo's respective words, one feels that both are equal facets of the Supreme. Both are avatars and light bringers to this world of countless beings enmeshed in samsara. Mentally, there is a contradiction, and a limitation. Spiritually, there is no contradiction, only totally complementary revelations of the same Supreme.
For me there is no contradiction between the two. And what I am interested in is showing how their revelations - not their mental or spiritual-mental teachings, but their Revelations - converge and harmonise, for the purpose of the Enlightenment of the World.
And therein lies the key.
Links:
Realization.org: The Power of the Presence Part One: - Ramana had little interest in Sri Aurobindo's philosophical teachings.
Generation Sit » Blog Archive » Ramana Maharshi, Sri Aurobindo - a sensitive and insightful appreciation, presented from the perspective of Wilberian Integral Theory
Integral Spirituality - Exploring the Connection of the Sages Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi and Sri Aurobindo by Charles Ismael Flores. - "This article includes an imaginary interview in which the author compares, based on published quotes from Ramana Maharshi and Sri Aurobindo, what each of them might say to questions posed by a spiritual Seeker who is learning about the Indian tradition of Kevalya Advaita and Integral (Purna) Yoga. The article sheds light on the distinctly different spiritual approaches of these two masters."
I was quite impressed by her talk published in the issue of Living Now; it reminded me a lot of Da Free John in the subtle wording (note: superficially these two gurus couldn't be further apart!!!!), implying that like Da, Gangaji had attained the Intermediate Zone. Since very few do (and far far fewer actually go beyond to become a sadguru), and since she was talking just up the road from me, i decided to go along. I decided that I would sincerely aspire to receive what Light I could. And indeed I did! My summation of Gangaji is here. The amazing thing is that through this transmission of presence, I was able to access Sri Ramana Maharshi's Light and revelation. And that was and is simply amazing!
I had previously heard of and respected Ramana, but wasn't very interested in him, because his teachings were of the "old school" whereas I was and am more interested in the "new yoga" of integral transformation and supramentalisation taught by Sri Aurobindo and The Mother. It took a direct (or indirect, via Gangaji via her guru Papaji who was a devotee of Ramana) transmission for "the scales to fall from my eyes" and for me to realise Ramana's status as avatar and sadguru.
Interestingly, the way I received Ramana's Light is very different to how I received Sri Aurobindo and The Mother's Light. I was first connected to the twin integral avatars via my uncle, who mentioned them in a letter to my mother when I was only 12 or 13, although it was to be some years before that realisation would flower. With Ramana I was already much more spiritually, emotionally, and intellectually mature, and so when Gangaji presented the transmission I was able - through great aspiration (although not really as great as it should have been, because of ego and desire) - to receive it.
A few days later I went down to the local Theosophical Bookshop and bought two books on Ramana; reading them and looking at his photo further strengthened the connection.
Intellectually, Ramana and Sri Aurobindo could not be further apart. Ramana rejects the Aurobindonian position; Sri Aurobindo's teachings include and transcend Ramana's nondualism.
Spiritually, once one gets beyond these words, which includes even getting beyond even Maharshi's and Sri Aurobindo's respective words, one feels that both are equal facets of the Supreme. Both are avatars and light bringers to this world of countless beings enmeshed in samsara. Mentally, there is a contradiction, and a limitation. Spiritually, there is no contradiction, only totally complementary revelations of the same Supreme.
For me there is no contradiction between the two. And what I am interested in is showing how their revelations - not their mental or spiritual-mental teachings, but their Revelations - converge and harmonise, for the purpose of the Enlightenment of the World.
And therein lies the key.
Links:
Realization.org: The Power of the Presence Part One: - Ramana had little interest in Sri Aurobindo's philosophical teachings.
Generation Sit » Blog Archive » Ramana Maharshi, Sri Aurobindo - a sensitive and insightful appreciation, presented from the perspective of Wilberian Integral Theory
Integral Spirituality - Exploring the Connection of the Sages Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi and Sri Aurobindo by Charles Ismael Flores. - "This article includes an imaginary interview in which the author compares, based on published quotes from Ramana Maharshi and Sri Aurobindo, what each of them might say to questions posed by a spiritual Seeker who is learning about the Indian tradition of Kevalya Advaita and Integral (Purna) Yoga. The article sheds light on the distinctly different spiritual approaches of these two masters."
posted by m alan kazlev at 3:34 PM
3 Comments:
In the article by Charles Ismael Flores, the correspondece of Nagin Doshi with Sri Aurobindo on the subject is not mentioned.
Thank you for sharing. Love to you and yours, and All our world.
Sri Aurobindo on Ramana:
"Because he is a great man does it follow that everything he thinks or says is right? or because he lives in the light does it follow that his light is absolute and complete? The "Truth-Consciousness" is a phrase I use for the Supermind. Maharshi is not in the Supermind. He may be and is in a true Consciousness, but that is a different matter"
"If he lives in the true consciousness, has he not always the full knowledge? Is he not using the intuitive mind?
Living in the true consciousness is living in a consciousness in which one is spiritually in union with the Divine in one way or another. But it does not follow that so living one will have the complete, exact and infallible truth about all ideas, all things and all persons. Maharshi realises the Divine in a certain aspect and he has the knowledge of what is necessary for his path. It does not follow that he will have other knowledge that [is] beyond what he has reached or is outside it.
Intuition proper is true in itself (when not interpreted or altered by mind) although fragmentary — intuitive mind is mixed with mind and therefore not infallible; because the truth intuition gives may be mixed or imperfectly formed by it"
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