SELF

[Chelluri]

                                              Brahmaiva Satyam

Namaste! SriVidya.

The Swami Ramdas in my post is a Tamilian, Malayali or Kannada who lived in
Manglore.   He is an Advaitin.  I came across a book titled "IN Quest of God"
The Saga of Extraordinary Pilgrimage by Swami Ramdas.  Read it and you will
findout what happened.  What he said in one of his writings had a profound
impact on me now and I believe it is true.   His saying has relevancy to
present debate on Gods Grace posted by Sri Murty.   Swami Ramdas says "Man's
mind won't turn to God unless God's Grace falls on him first.  There is no
purusha prayatnam (effort) involved here.  God's grace falls on people
according to their karma phalam,  past and present.

You are right, advaita list is not the proper place to seek advice.   I am
sorry I used the wrong word.   It is not advise am seeking rather it is
opinion/view.  You advised to to seek a proper guru for clarifications.  I
went to a lot of gurus and swami's including the acharyas at kanchi and
sringeri.   Most of the swami's who come here they do for one reason i.e.,
money.  They may be using this money for good cause but the fact of raising
money turns me off.

Lastly I would like to express thanks to acharyas of kanchi, sringeri ,
Chinmaya and others with whom I had personal discussions and correspondance
which cost me nothing. They are proper gur's in every sense but they are gone
now.  I will keep searching for a proper guru OR he/she will come to me at
proper time.
Thanks for the advise.

                                  shubamastu                             nagy
>From  Thu Jan  8 07:21:06 1998
Message-Id: <THU.8.JAN.1998.072106.0500.>
Date: Thu, 8 Jan 1998 07:21:06 -0500
Reply-To: chandran at tidalwave.net
To: "Advaita (non-duality) with reverence" <ADVAITA-L at TAMU.EDU>
From: Ram Chandran <chandran at TIDALWAVE.NET>
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Subject: Re: Consciousness
Comments: To: Advaita List <advaita-l at tamu.edu>
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Chandran, Nanda (NBC) <Nanda.Chandran at NBC.COM> writes:

> .......I think we can totally negate the body. So that leaves the mind
> (manas), the intellect (buddhi) and the "I" consciousness (ahamkara).
> Can somebody explain the relation of these three to the Self?

Shri Hanuman with strong body and great intellect was a humble servant
to Shri Ram.   Strong conviction is an integral part of the realization
of SELF.  The following example from a book  illustrates how a person
with strong conviction can find a way to get out of the prison enclosed
by the  body, mind and intellect:

Shri Ram asked Hanuman, ^ÑWhat is your attitude toward me?
How do you look upon, think of and worship me?'

Hanuman replied, Oh Lord:

When  I am conscious of my body, when I feel I am this visible body
and I have the conviction that thou art the Lord and I am thy servant.
Thou art to be served and I am one to serve.

When I am conscious of my self as the individual self, one with the
mind, the intellect and the soul, I have the strong conviction
that thou art the whole and I am thy part.

When I remain in Samadhi, in the mood that I am the Pure SELF
devoid of all qualifying adjuncts, I have the conviction that I am
also verily that which Thou art. Thou and I are one, there is
no difference whatsoever between Thou and I.

Reference:
Essentials of Hinduism, by V. Krishnamurthy (1989)
Narosa Publishing House, New Delhi. Page 136.

Note: The original source is Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa.

Ram Chandran
Burke, VA.