Spiritual Practice

Gurus, Transmission and Grace

I know a lot of people talk about direct transmission and others talk about the Guru's Grace, but I am not too sure about it at all.

Firstly, there is the assumption that there is a 'you', which does not have something that another separate person does. This may be true as far as the reference point, the 'me', is concerned, but not for your/my essential nature - Life Itself, which is non personal.

Secondly it assumes that you can 'receive' something you do not have, from the other person, who does have it. Our essential nature is already fully complete and it is only the reference point that can 'receive'. "I want it, I want it!"

What is added can be taken away. Our essential nature is unchanging, therefore what is received is 'not it'.

I am reminded of the person who wrote a review of a Gangaji talk who deliberately sat closer to Gangaji so that her 'transmission' would be more effective at close range. In other words, an apparent 'transmission' that obeyed the laws of physics and reduced in intensity according to the inverse of the square of the distance, just as if Gangaji was the source of some kind of electromagnetic radiation. It is 'not it'.

Both Ramana Maharshi and Nisargadatta Maharaj describe self realisation, so called, as having an understanding - to see the True as True and the False as False. That is what it is all about. An understanding that is deeper than thought.

Bob helps by getting people to LOOK and see the false knowledge as false knowledge. And to see what is true.

That is all there is. It is an understanding - a non conceptual SEEing

Just the SEEing is what it is all about, and certainly LIVE communication with someone like Bob can make a huge difference.

Virtually everyone who goes to Melbourne in order to see Bob has a One on One session with him. It does make a huge difference - just as John Wheeler describes - as something said in total confidence from a person who lives it completely.

It is certainly absolutely necessary to get any queries, misunderstandings or doubts cleared up - so that the understanding is fully there. So that you have actually 'got it' - and the 'got it' refers to the understanding.

Bob said that if Nisargadatta detected some reliance of people on him - he demolished that reliance so that there was none - often brutally kicking it out from under them.

Nisargadatta said

"Under the right teacher the disciple learns to learn, not to remember and obey."

Nisargadatta threw people out - some after a week - others, like Bob, after a year. Even though he cried when Bob left.

Written by Mike Graham, 19 Jan 2008, last edited 16 Jun 2008