BOUNDLESS LOVE

By Gladys De Meuter

GRACE is always there". Sri Ramana Maharshi said these
words to one of the countless hearts who came to him for
spiritual guidance and solace. Is not the sage grace embodied?

Once, when Sri Bhagavan was asked whether grace was
not the gift conferred by the guru, he replied, "God, guru and
grace are synonymous terms. They are immanent and eternal".

Grace! Here lies the heart of spiritual life!

From this source wells forth the infinite variety of forms
which grace assumes, as it were, in order to dissipate the mists
of the chimera called ignorance. These are relative terms, for
on a loftier level, Sri Bhagavan taught that there is neither
seeker nor goal, for Self alone is.

Few are ready, however, to follow the Sage's supreme
teaching or Maha Yoga; others must take hold of the Ariadne
thread which will lead them out of the labyrinth of wrong
identification with the spurious ego. This thread is made of
simple twine, and every pilgrim may take hold of it. One
qualification is necessary -- sincerity! The sage of Arunachala
knew who was sincere. In the questions answered by Sri
Bhagavan it is striking how infinitely gentle and patient he
was with certain humble enquirers, and how he refrained from
replying in like vein to other persons whose questions were
not sincere.

Without the mysterious operation of grace, no seeker would
be aware that there was something lacking which must be
found, or something lost which must be rediscovered. Grace
may be likened to an exquisite love song which is an invitation
to the sacred grove of silence where all who have ears to hear
may hear this divine call, and enter. Sri Ramana Maharshi
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radiated grace, and his compassion excluded none. His
wisdom-power-love was, and remains, measureless.

Faith without works is dead. This is so true, for to pay
homage to Sri Bhagavan without following his path would be
to pay but lip service whilst the heart is not alive. The Ariadne
thread is there, but those who revere the Sage of Arunachala
should ever bear in mind that ahimsa in thought, word and
deed must be observed faithfully and put into practice daily.
As in days of yore, by the fruits shall be known the devotees
of the Master!

Sri Bhagavan's teachings have been brilliantly expounded by
eminent scholars, poets and devotees, and different individuals
may be attracted to different facets of the sage's life.

To this heart, ever vividly present is Sri Maharshi's infinite
tenderness towards even the tiniest creatures. His beautiful
smile greeted the mother-bird busily preparing her nest for
her family in the meditation hall. The wild monkeys, including
Nondi the lame one, knew that they had nothing to fear from
Sri Bhagavan. Likewise came many other animals. One
remembers especially Lakshmi the cow, whose great love for
the Master is deeply touching and is beautifully told by Arthur
Osborne. The gentle solicitude, patience and compassion
shown by Sri Ramana Maharshi towards all forms of life is
not mere sentimentality. It has profound meaning. Every action
of the Maharshi is of utmost importance.

Sri Bhagavan showed reverence for life by example. This
reverence for life extended to all living things. When someone
declared that surely he could not be compared to a tree, the
quiet reply of the sage was most revealing, "You may call a
tree a standing man, and man a walking tree".

We cannot pretend to comprehend fully the sagacity of a
sage, but throughout history we find that the true measure of
the sage is that he is compassion itself, and this Sri Ramana
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Maharshi is. Whether Sri Bhagavan gently guided a devotee
on the path of surrender, or another to follow the steep vichara ^[?]
method, or yet another to practise his or her own form of
worship, whether it be along the lines of Hinduism or another
religion, the sage always taught according to the receptivity
of the enquirer. Unfailingly, his love forged a spiritual link
which would never be severed. A striking example of this is
the scene when a devotee asked heart-rendingly, "What if 1
go to hell"? The sage assured him that even there he would
not let go of him.

Whether Sri Bhagavan walks the earth in physical frame,
or whether he has shed it, does not matter, since his love is
everpresent. everpowerful, everactive. Whatever path one
follows, surely the greatest comfort is to know that the guru
within is truly there, as Sri Bhagavan has taught.

To quote but one example:

It is night. A passenger peers out of an aircraft window.

Suddenly, from the desert below, a glow of light is perceived.
From the tempest-torn heart of this passenger a prayer pours
forth, "God, be my light in the night of life's day". This person
had never beheld the physical form of Sri Ramana Maharshi,
yet the presence is here-now-always. How did this
spontaneous prayer come about? It sufficed that one day a
hand was guided to a book which bore a countenance, one
with starlike eyes, a visage which radiated a glory which
beggars description. Thus was the love song heard!

The Sage of Arunachala does not belong to any specific
time or place. He is beyond both. Only in this context does he
emerge in his true grandeur.

As homage to that wondrous love song, which, once heard,
is never forgotten or silenced, a modest spiritual bouquet is
tendered to the Beloved:

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Thou who alone knowest how to love --
Blessed am I to know that Thou lovest me.
Thou wilt never forsake me.
No matter What manner of misfortune befalls me,
When I am shunned, derided, cast aside by others,
Thou art ever there, folding me in tender protectiveness.
When aloneness, fears, doubts, temptations and other
foes assail me,
Thou art there to disperse them and put them to flight.
Thou art my true eternal Love!
In Thee alone do I find repose
How to thank Thee, O boundless Love?
By offering Thee my poverty-stricken heart!

The Answer

By Wei Wu Wei

"Where could Maharshi go"?

Out of voidness, from which he perceived, where could
he go?

`Void' has neither ingress nor exit.

Concerning `void' nothing could ever be said, for about
no thing there could not be anything to say.

Hence three hundred pages by `Sages'?

Three hundred or three thousand pages may be written
concerning concepts termed `void', as about any other
conceptual object, but concerning `void' as such no word could
ever apply, for no thought could ever think itself, and no eye
could ever see what is looking.

Note: `Void', of course, can also be discussed as `Noumenon',
which is discussion concerning the discussing of discussion.

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