Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi
How long will it take to get Brahma Jnana (Self-Realization)?
Day by Day with Bhagavan
Diary of Devaraja Mudaliar
March 25, 1945
How long will it take to get Brahma Jnana (Self-Realization)?
It seems a visitor, the Raja of Sivaghar in U.P., told Bhagavan that he had surrendered himself to Bhagavan, and Bhagavan should give him jnana.
Bhagavan referred to an article on Nama Dev’s insistence on the importance of the Lord’s name, in the September 1937 issue of Vision, where it is pointed out that only when the ‘I’, the ego, is surrendered the significance of the Lord’s name will be realized.
DM: When I entered the hall, the story of how Ashtavakra Gita came to be taught was being recounted in English, for the benefit of the above Raja and other visitors. After the story was read out, Bhagavan said as follows.
Bhagavan: Because Brahma jnana is not something external, which is somewhere far away where you can go and get it, you cannot say that it will take so long or so short a time to attain it. It is always with you. You are That! The story of Ashtavakra Gita is intended to teach that for getting Brahma jnana all that is necessary is to surrender yourself completely to the guru, to surrender your notion of ‘I’ and ‘mine’. If these are surrendered, what remains is the Reality. Then, it becomes impossible to state what further time it would take to attain Brahma jnana. It would be wrong to state that it takes as much time as a man would require to put his other foot into the second stirrup after having placed one foot in the first stirrup. The moment when ego is completely surrendered, the Self shines.”
