Quote from Ramana Maharshi

“To investigate the past and the future without considering yourself, you who abide perpetually in the present moment as the peerless ‘now’, is this not like counting without the number one?”

Different paths

One time I stood in the middle of a circle, and the Hindu master appeared next to me.     

            In the middle of this circle, we spoke of God. Light pulsated from the master and travelled in all directions. I noticed paths branching out from the circle. One path went this way, the other that way, and another, went uphill and through a forest. I asked the Hindu master, “what happens if I take this path? Will I be able to find my way back to this circle?”

“This circle is our home. If you don’t forget the reminders, then you’ll never lose your way.”

            And so, I took the path. It meandered its way up a dirt trail, and through the forest. The adventures I came upon, and the observations I made.

            But then, the path ended. It went nowhere. At the end of it was just thick brush and fallen trees. The path had taken me as far as it could. I turned around and pondered, all that, for that. It all seemed so pointless.

            I had forgot that the Hindu master had been with me the whole time, silently walking behind me. His voice echoed through the still forest.

            “But it wasn’t pointless. It wasn’t a waste of time. Look at the adventures and observations you came upon. And all the while, you remained fully aware of God consciousness, thus it was not a waste of time.”