Saturday, January 26, 2008

An Afternoon in Westlake Village with John Sherman

...Ramana had no interest in matters spiritual either, although he was happy to talk to people about them, up to the point when he asked, For whom is all of this relevant? Ramana had no interest in spiritual descriptions. He had interest in only one thing: persuading you to find out what you are. Now, there is a whole ocean of ideas about enlightenment and what it entails, what happens, and what it means, and what the event is—as if it were an event. Enlightenment is not an event. Enlightenment is much simpler than that, and it is just shining light, so as to reveal what is real. It is just the revealing of what is real. It is nothing other than that. The enlightenment that is the outcome of self-enquiry is gradual. It is like the sun that does away with the fog in the morning. It can be a very gradual process from deep fog to clear skies, in such a way that you really don't know at what point there is no fog left. This is the enlightenment that is the outcome of self-enquiry. It is the gradual eroding away of the deeply-held, unseen, unconscious belief that you are your life.

http://www.riverganga.org/Transcriptions/Westlake_Village_CA_April_29_2007_am.shtml

No comments: