Ramana Maharshi on possibility of leaving his ashram: Where can I go? I shall always be a prisoner.
Given below is an extract from the book, 'A Sadhu’s Reminiscences of Ramana Maharshi', written by Major Chadwick (Sadhu Arunachala), http://www.jainlibrary.org/elib_master/jlib/007501_book_english_41/Sadhus_Reminiscences_of_Raman_Maharshi_007606_std.pdf. The extract is from Page 90 (pdf page 96).
One day someone remarked to Bhagavan, “There are many things that happen here of which Bhagavan cannot approve. Why does he remain here? He has no ties or desires.”
“What can I do?” asked Bhagavan. “If I go off to the forest and try to hide, what will happen? They will soon find me out. Then someone will put up a hut in front of me and another person at the back, and it will not be long before huts will have sprung up on either side. Where can I go? I shall always be a prisoner.”
--- end extract from Ramana Maharshi book ---
Ravi: The burden that devotees put on a well known Guru which includes their superhuman expectations of what the Guru must do for them, is very scary. Eventually the well known Guru almost seems to become, at a worldly level, a prisoner of the expectations and demands that are placed on him by his devotees.
I think it is important for devotees of a well known Guru to give some space to the Guru. It is my considered view now that the Guru has both human aspects and divine aspects. At the human level, the Guru should be allowed to relax and take it easy at times, instead of devotees burdening the Guru with all their requests to intercede in their human affairs all the time.
[I thank Sadhu Arunachala/Major Chadwick and have presumed that he and his heirs will not have any objections to me sharing the above extracts from their book/ website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
One day someone remarked to Bhagavan, “There are many things that happen here of which Bhagavan cannot approve. Why does he remain here? He has no ties or desires.”
“What can I do?” asked Bhagavan. “If I go off to the forest and try to hide, what will happen? They will soon find me out. Then someone will put up a hut in front of me and another person at the back, and it will not be long before huts will have sprung up on either side. Where can I go? I shall always be a prisoner.”
--- end extract from Ramana Maharshi book ---
Ravi: The burden that devotees put on a well known Guru which includes their superhuman expectations of what the Guru must do for them, is very scary. Eventually the well known Guru almost seems to become, at a worldly level, a prisoner of the expectations and demands that are placed on him by his devotees.
I think it is important for devotees of a well known Guru to give some space to the Guru. It is my considered view now that the Guru has both human aspects and divine aspects. At the human level, the Guru should be allowed to relax and take it easy at times, instead of devotees burdening the Guru with all their requests to intercede in their human affairs all the time.
[I thank Sadhu Arunachala/Major Chadwick and have presumed that he and his heirs will not have any objections to me sharing the above extracts from their book/ website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
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