Complete surrender is another name for jnana or
liberation.
The jnani has attained Liberation even while alive, here and now.
The jnani sees only the Self in the body.
The purest form
of his teachings was the powerful silence which radiated from his
presence and quietened the minds of those attuned to it. He gave
verbal teachings only for the benefit of those who could not understand
his silence. His verbal teachings were said to flow from his direct
experience of Consciousness as the only existing reality. When asked
for advice, he recommended self-enquiry as the fastest path to moksha.
Though his primary teaching is associated with Non-dualism, Advaita
Vedanta, and Jnana yoga, he recommended Bhakti to those he saw were
fit for it, and gave his approval to a variety of paths and practices.
He was renowned for his saintly life, for the fullness of his self-realisation,
and for the feelings of deep peace that visitors experienced in
his presence. So many people came to see him at the holy hill of
Arunchala where he spent his adult life that an ashram had to be
built around him. He answered questions for hours every day, but
never considered himself to be anyone's guru.
Question:
Does
that mean that such a person will be in this world merely as a
witness?
Maharshi:
That
is so. The real will always exist. Existence or consciousness
is the only
reality. The screen is real, the pictures are mere shadows on
it.
The Self alone remains as it ever is.
The world
can be seen neither in the utter darkness of ignorance, as in
deep sleep, nor in the utter light of the Self, as in Self-realisation
or Samadhi.
