Where DOES he get those cute little vests...and, you gotta love that beard!
--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "Rick Archer" <r...@...> wrote: > > > > > Consciousness and the Now > > by Gautam Sachdeva > <http://gautamsachdeva.com/images/Gautam.jpg> OH, East is East, and West is > West, and never the twain shall meet, > Till Earth and Sky stand presently at Godâs great Judgement Seat; > But there is neither East nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, > When two strong men stand face to face, thoâ they come from the ends of the > earth! > --Rudyard Kipling > -Rudyard Kipling > > Over the years, I have invariably been asked for details of the encounter > between the two spiritual Masters, Ramesh Balsekar and Eckhart Tolle. Itâs > human nature; our curiosity is aroused; we want to know what exactly happens > when two Masters meet. Is it any different from when two ordinary people > meet? Does something happen at an energetic level? What was the feeling like > in the room? These are some of the questions that have come my way. It was > only recently (eight years later!), that it occurred to me to pen my thoughts > regarding that meeting which took place in 2002. > > But first, some background to place the meeting in context. > > In 2000, the publishing company Yogi Impressions was born. I actually had no > intention to enter the publishing business. It was just that we had a hard > time finding an appropriate publisher for my motherâs book on her visual > experience of the awakening of the Kundalini. We finally decided to > self-publish her book; my background in advertising gave me the confidence as > I was familiar with the process of designing and printing. After we brought > out her book, we had no plans to publish any more books. > > My journey with Eckhart and Ramesh started, almost simultaneously, around > this time. We soon found ourselves publishing Eckhartâs and Rameshâs > books. The next two titles we brought out were The Power of Now (Indian > edition), and Rameshâs bookThe Ultimate Understanding. > > My sister Nikki had read The Power of Now around the time it had just > released in the West. The book had a tremendous impact on her and she met > Eckhart, almost immediately, when she was in Vancouver on a business trip. > She was keen to bring Eckhartâs message to India and we ended up publishing > the Indian edition of the same, through a series of synchronistic events. > Eckhart had mentioned to Nikki early on that âThe Power of Now will be the > beginning of an adventure for Gautam.â Thanks to him, and the success of > his books, we were soon able to publish books of some other spiritual masters > as well. On a personal level, during my lifeâs spiritual journey, I have > had the good fortune of meeting some wonderful beings, over the years, whom I > would not have normally met had it not been for spiritual publishing. Eckhart > was right - it was the start of an adventure that still continues. With > Ramesh, his editor at the time informed me he was looking for a publisher to > bring out his new book. I said that, although I did not have much experience > as such in publishing, I would be more than happy to help though they > probably would be better off with an experienced publisher. Nevertheless, a > meeting was arranged with Ramesh. The first question he asked me was if I had > read any of his earlier books. I was in a spot! A bit embarrassed, I > hesitatingly replied, âNone!â I thought that was the end of that - I > would politely be shown the door. To my surprise, Ramesh burst out laughing > and said, âThen youâre perfect for the job!â This immediately endeared > me to him and I heaved a sigh of relief. > > Thus began my journey in publishing. I soon found myself also donning the hat > of spiritual publisher. > > In those early years, I was fortunate to develop an intimate relationship > with Ramesh as well as Eckhart. I met Eckhart on numerous occasions during > his retreats across the world and also spent time, a few days before and > after the retreats, with him. With Ramesh, I had no idea I would end up > sitting at his feet for almost ten years and that he would become a > father-figure to me and the biggest influence thus far in my life. For his > teaching was a validation of my life experience. > > It was with this background that, when Eckhart travelled to India in 2002 and > visited Mumbai, I thought it would be wonderful if I could get the two of > them together. After all, I found my life situation looking like the Caduceus > of Mercury, the staff with two snakes wrapped around it in the form of a > double helix. For destiny had intricately woven these two extraordinary > beings and their teaching around me. I was quite excited and asked Ramesh if > he would like to meet Eckhart, and he readily offered an evening invitation > to tea. > > Now, Ramesh used to enjoy having a dig at various teachers or, rather, their > teaching. Especially those who had written books! It was simply part of his > programming. And at the age of about eighty-five then, he had the conviction > of his lifeâs experience behind him, and the authority of a wizened master > of Advaita taking up after his guru Nisargadatta Maharaj. Rameshâs position > was clear: All there is, is Consciousness. And so, when the pleasantries were > over, the flagbearer of Consciousness wasted no time. > > Once we were seated, Ramesh asked Eckhart to explain the very first line in > The Power of Now: âYou are here to enable the divine purpose of the > universe to unfold. That is how important you are!â > > Ramesh looked squarely at Eckhart and raised the point that the âyouâ was > nothing more than a three-dimensional object through which Consciousness > functioned. So, how could a three-dimensional object be âimportantâ? In > his satsangs, when asked a question along the lines of âWhat is the purpose > of life?â Ramesh would answer, âWho wants to know? A three-dimensional > object? An object can never know the will of the Creator-Subject.â Ramesh > went on to tell Eckhart that if, on the other hand, Eckhart was addressing > the Consciousness, then Consciousness neednât be told how important It is. > > What was happening was clear. In order to drive home his point, Ramesh had > taken Eckhartâs words and placed them in the context of his own teaching. > Initially, Eckhart tried to explain his perspective but Ramesh did not give > him a chance. Consciousnessâs star advocate would have none of it for he > was uncompromising in his concepts of the philosophy of Advaita. What > happened at this juncture was a privilege to witness, as the greatest show on > earth had begun. > > Eckhart was very quick in realizing that this line of conversation would not > go anywhere, and there was no point in even attempting to say anything at > this stage. He dropped all further attempts to explain his point of view and > slipped into silence. Some visitors in the room were trying to defend Eckhart > for, in their eyes, Ramesh was not being âfairâ. But Ramesh saw that > Eckhart had dropped all resistance to what he said; in fact he wondered aloud > why others were getting agitated when Eckhart wasnât! In that moment, > seeing Eckhart looking at him in stillness, it was as if Ramesh picked up the > cue. Looking at Eckhart, he launched into what was to be one of the most > lucid deliveries of his teaching. In half an hour, and without the slightest > interruption, Ramesh, in a non-stop monologue, covered all his concepts of > Advaita. It was clear that Ramesh launched this monologue for he saw that > Eckhart was sitting across him like an empty vessel - totally present in the > moment. Sitting on the sofa across both of them, I witnessed what Ramesh > would say was, âConsciousness speaking through one instrument and listening > through another.â I also remember the thought arising that I did not see > Eckhart look to the left or the right, or get distracted â" like when you > listen to someone for the sake of listening when actually your mind is > dancing the jig elsewhere. He was totally âhereâ, eyes fixed on Ramesh, > right till the end of this one-on-one satsang. It was clear that there was > much more transpiring between Ramesh and Eckhart in that exchange than what > we were witnessing. It seemed like a communication at many levels. I also > remember thinking that had it been someone else in Eckhartâs place, perhaps > this would have never happened as the person would have relentlessly defended > his position and gotten into a conceptual debate. This I had seen happen a > few times at Rameshâs satsangs. > > What impacted me most was how both of them were shining examples, living > embodiments, of their respective teaching. Ramesh was being who he was, his > natural self. He did not care what others in the room thought of his initial > stance that could have been perceived as aggression. Thereafter, once > Consciousnessâs divine robot saw that there was someone across him who was > willing to listen, the entire teaching flowed through him like the Ganga in > spate. And Eckhart comfortably slipped into the âNowâ in order to let > events play themselves out. Or did the Now slip into him? > > For me, this indeed was the greatest show on earth. It was the show of two > people simply being themselves; something as simple as that. I recently came > across a chapter titled âWhen Two Masters Meetâ in Moojiâs book Before > I Am. Mooji is a western teacher of non-duality (Advaita). In this chapter, > when asked what happens when two Masters meet, he replies: âWe entertain > all kinds of fanciful notions that some cosmic shift should happen, like > bringing two magnets together, and this is nonsense. There are no two masters > meeting. What is the difference between the space in this room and the space > in the kitchen? None at all.â > > This is so true. Once Ramesh had said what he needed to say, some of us > (including me!) heaved a sigh of relief when the tea and snacks were brought > in. While having our tea, some voices were heard whispering, âHow could > Ramesh be like that? What an ego that man has!â Others were saying, âWhy > didnât Eckhart give it back to Ramesh?â⦠and so on. The joke was that > all this judging was happening as far as the rest of us, besides Ramesh and > Eckhart, were concerned. It was we who were carrying the âhappeningâ in > our heads after it was over â" the two of them looked the least bothered. Of > course, this reaction some of us had was meant to be, for our framework of > daily living is separation - âmeâ and the âotherâ - and all > judgements arising consequently. After the tea, we had a merry time taking > pictures together, exchanging hugs and laughter, and then I left with Eckhart > and the group. I remember that while we were waiting below for the car, > Eckhart laughed and just said, âIndian gurus talk a lot!â > > Just before I sat down to write this article, I was reminiscing on this > meeting with Rameshâs brother, Chaitan, who was also present at that > meeting then. His first comment was, âI have no idea why my brother started > out in that way when he was actually looking forward to meet Eckhart. > Nevertheless, it looked to me that others were more upset than Eckhart > himself, at my brotherâs remarks.â As Chaitan had pointed out earlier in > our conversation, the difference in the two teachings was that Ramesh was > clear that the ego is not the doer (God is the only doer), whereas Eckhart > was telling the ego to âdoâ something â" his basic teaching being about > what the ego can âdoâ to bring itself into harmony with the peace and > presence of the Now. He compared it with two distinct and separate paths of > dwaita (duality) and advaita (non-duality), which eventually lead to the same > destination. > > Over the years, I met some seekers who visited Ramesh who would say, âOh, > but Eckhart tells you there is something for you to do.â After this > statement, they would invariably compare the two teachings. But, how could > you compare apples to oranges? It was missing the point. Both paths are like > railway tracks â" they will never come together but will eventually reach > the same destination. Liberation! This is what Chaitan was referring to. > Itâs just that some people resonate with one teaching, and some people with > another. In India, these two distinct traditions have respectfully existed > side by side for ages. > > Ultimately, each individual gravitates to the teaching that resonates deep > within him. And thatâs the reason why the philosophy of pure Advaita, as > expounded by Ramesh, would not be popular â" not many egos like being told > they are not the doers! So, a teaching like Eckhartâs works with the > masses, who understand being told there is something they can âdoâ to > improve their life situation â" simply because lifeâs conditioning is > based on doership. In fact, in India, it has always been the case that Dwaita > was the teaching given to the masses, while Advaita was taught to the few > whose nature it appealed to. I used to quip that the money generated by us > from publishing Eckhartâs books was helping us produce Rameshâs! Indeed, > life is stranger than fiction. > > On the other hand, I came across innumerable people who were fans of both > Ramesh and Eckhart, and found similarities in the teachings. I could > understand what they were referring to, in spite of the paths being > different. Being grounded in Rameshâs teaching, I could truly understand > Eckhartâs. If, as Ramesh would say, everything is Godâs Will, then there > is a âtotal acceptance of what isâ. âTotal acceptance of what isâ is > equivalent to âbeing in the Nowâ. The âNowâ being Vertical Time > (âwhat-isâ), and not the involvement in horizontal time > (âwhat-should-beâ). > > Both teachings eventually bring you to the same spot: the âI Amâ - > impersonal awareness of Being. Rameshâs teaching addresses the ego (the > âmeâ) and exposes the fraud of doership, thus pointing towards impersonal > functioning in the waking state, without involvement of the âmeâ. > Similiarly, Eckhartâs teaching brings you to the âI Amâ, the Conscious > Presence â" the Now. I was hardly surprised to find out that Nisargadatta > Maharajâs bestselling spiritual classic I Am That was on Eckhartâs > recommended reading list. In fact, one would be right to consider Eckhart as > a teacher in the non-dualist tradition. > > The other day, my friend Heena was wondering aloud whether to get two current > day Advaita teachers together at her residence, when she found out that they > would be in town at the same time. I looked at her and found myself saying, > âAre you sure about that?!â She looked perplexed and asked why, and so I > gave her a shorter version of the events that had transpired when Eckhart met > Ramesh. At the end of it, she said that she thought there was a beautiful > learning in the encounter. Although I had begun writing about it, that remark > of hers is what sealed it and I decided to complete what I was writing. She > asked if I would ever get two Masters together again, and I found myself > laughing. I looked at her and said, âI donât know!â > > But what I do know is that Kiplingâs words ring true: There is neither East > nor West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth, when two strong men stand face to > face, thoâ they come from the end of the earth! The greatest strength, of > course, being spiritual strength. > > --Life Positive magazine, February 2010 > http://gautamsachdeva.com/writing8.shtml >
