Consciousness Speaks - by Sri Ramesh Balsekar

[Srikrishna Ghadiyaram]

Hari Om !!

Recently, I read the book, “Consciousness Speaks”, edited talks of Sri
Ramesh Balsekar. As it is acknowledged, Sri Ramesh is Self-Realised J~nani.
The book made a good reading. A few salient points, I learnt are as follws:

1. Sri Ramesh greatly emphasizes “Impersonal Consciousness”, meaning
whatever is happening is happening in and due to the One-and-Only
Consciousness and there is no sense of separate, or individual doer  in it.
He has brought out this point very very effectively in every sentence he
spoke.

To me this meant, complete non-acknowledgement of EGO and role of EGO;. Sri
Ramesh also advocates that there is “ABSOLUTELY NOTHING we have to do or we
can do” to reach the state of Realisation. God will take care of it.
Whatever is happening or whatever will happen is within the scheme of
TOTALITY. To me this means “Absolute surrender or Bhakti or Devotion”. Can
Sri Ramesh’s teaching  be called Advaita Vedanta and J~nana marga ???

I am reading now “mAnasOllasa”. As it is expounded there, “EGO” itself is
the Atman with Body/Mind identification. So, keeping this principle in
mind, can we accept Sri Ramesh’s teaching as appropriate means to “Self-
Knowledge” ??, as it does not acknowledge EGO or role of EGO. Ofcourse,
here I am not denying the power of his message of “Absolute Surrender” and
futility of any notion of “Doership” (as per my understanding).

2. Sri Ramesh presents that there is no individual in the scheme of
TOTALITY. So, there is no “INDIVIDUAL KARMA” and hence NO individual
reborn. It is only that another organism is created in Totality, as effects
of previous Karmas. What is very peculiar about his teaching is that he
says there is no “Individual Bundle of Karma”, meaning all the Karmas of
all the Beings are part of the Totality and when new Organisms are born,
there is no particular BUNDLE to be reborn, meaning these Karmas get mixed
up and re-distributed and the new Organism born has no traceable one to one
identity with past lives. Is this not denial of rebirth which is the basis
of Vedanta ??

To me this looks quite different from the Karma theory I have learnt so
far. Is there any Scriptural authority or references that you have come
across which might support Sri Ramesh’s interpretation of Karma theory and
Totality ???

As such the book made a good teaching/reading and I would encourage anyone
to read it.

Om Namo Narayanaya !!

Srikrishna