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It So Happened That: The Unique Teaching of Ramesh Balsekar With Stories & Anecdotes
It is not an action. It is a happening." The daily talks with Ramesh Balsekar used to be an eloquent and delightful happening of the Teachings of pure Advaita (Non-duality). When the ego asked: "How can the intellectual understanding, which is a conceptual understanding, become the truth for me?" Ramesh would explain, "It can only be known from personal investigation and experience that 'no action is my action.' The teaching can be of use only if it helps you to live your life in peace.
128 pages, Paperback
First published July 10, 2003
About the author
Ramesh S. Balsekar
172 books77 followersRamesh S. Balsekar was a disciple of the late Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, a renowned Advaita master. From early childhood, Balsekar was drawn to Advaita, a nondual teaching, particularly the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and Wei Wu Wei. He wrote more than 20 books, was president of the Bank of India, and received guests daily in his home in Mumbai until shortly before his death.
Balsekar taught from the tradition of Advaita Vedanta nondualism. His teaching begins with the idea of an ultimate Source, Brahman, from which creation arises. Once creation has arisen, the world and life operate mechanistically according to both Divine and natural laws. While people believe that they are actually doing things and making choices, free will is in fact an illusion. All that happens is caused by this one source, and the actual identity of this source is pure Consciousness, which is incapable of choosing or doing.
Balsekar taught from the tradition of Advaita Vedanta nondualism. His teaching begins with the idea of an ultimate Source, Brahman, from which creation arises. Once creation has arisen, the world and life operate mechanistically according to both Divine and natural laws. While people believe that they are actually doing things and making choices, free will is in fact an illusion. All that happens is caused by this one source, and the actual identity of this source is pure Consciousness, which is incapable of choosing or doing.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 27, 2023
A COLLECTION OF STORIES SUPPORTING THE ADVAITA POSITION
Ramesh S. Balsekar was the former President of the Bank of India. Mary Ciofalo wrote in the Introduction to this 2003 book, “Since 1987 Ramesh has given talks and seminars in the United States, Germany and South India… Ramesh illustrates the basic concepts that make up Advaitic [non-duality] teachings… Last year in Germany I told Ramesh I would like to collect his stories in a book. He welcomed the idea… So with Ramesh’s blessings I began this project … by taping Ramesh recounting some of his favorites… The rest were gleaned from tapes of his seminars … The format I have chosen is to lightly edit an introductory talk that Ramesh gave at … seminars in 1999. This talk lays out Ramesh’s basic concepts…”
In Ramesh’s first talk, he states, “There is a truth which no one can deny, and that is the impersonal awareness of existence… That impersonal awareness of existence is in every human being … An atheist may deny that God exists, but he cannot deny that he exists. This impersonal awareness of existence, ‘I am,’ is the only Truth…Any spiritual concept which does not refer to life as we know it will not be much good. So my first concept ‘I Am’ is the only truth, and ‘I Am’ is life as we know it, or the functioning of manifestation. The second basic concept is that the human being is just one species of objects along with thousands of species of objects in land, air, and water, which together constitute the totality of manifestation. The human being is basically an object, according to my concept, a uniquely programmed object… the unique DNA plus the environmental conditions is the programming in that object.” (Pg. 2)
He continues, “This spiritual seeking is an extraordinarily unique seeking. In ordinary seeking in phenomenality, the seeking stops only when the seeker finds the object he is seeking---when he gets what he wants. In the spiritual seeking, the seeking stops the moment the seeker truly understands what it is he is seeking… What does the spiritual seeker really want? He doesn’t know…” (Pg. 3)
He goes on, “In the spiritual seeking there are basically three kinds of processes. One is known as bhakti or devotion, and the second is known as jnana or knowledge. There is a third one, called karma, which is selfless action… If someone who has been programmed for bhakti is told about jnana, and circumstances force him to take the path of jnana, there will be conflict. If conflict happens, it could not have happened unless it was the will of God. Likewise, if the seeking takes the particular path for which that particular body-mind organism has been programmed, it is the will of God. In other words, the basic concept I have is contained in four simple words: Thy will be don. That is, nothing can happen unless it is the will of God.” (Pg. 5)
He adds, “The seeking stops when the ego realizes what it is that it has been seeking. What is it e4xactly that the ego has been seeking and the ego has to know? ‘Thy will be done,’ meaning the individual free will does not prevail. So the final thing that the ego has to accept is that it is Consciousness that functions through every human body/mind organism, producing actions at that moment strictly according to the will of God, based on the programming in each human object. That is my basic concept.” (Pg. 6-7)
He concludes the talk, “So what is the input which the Source of God puts in? A thought comes to a human being. He is so used to saying the word ‘my’ that he says, ‘It is my thought.’ The thought (or something seen or heard or tasted or smelled or touched) is the Divine input. The human being has no control over what is seen or heard, ow what thought is going to come next. That is the input. The brain reacts to that input strictly according to the programming, and the output that comes out is what the human being says is ‘my’ action, or ‘my’ reaction. The same even is seen by three different people with three different programs… the output could be anger in one case, compassion in the other case, or fear in the third case. The same three reactions would have happened even in the case of three sages, because even in the case of a sage, the body/mind remains with more or less the same programming.” (Pg. 7)
This book may appeal to those studying Eastern thought.
Ramesh S. Balsekar was the former President of the Bank of India. Mary Ciofalo wrote in the Introduction to this 2003 book, “Since 1987 Ramesh has given talks and seminars in the United States, Germany and South India… Ramesh illustrates the basic concepts that make up Advaitic [non-duality] teachings… Last year in Germany I told Ramesh I would like to collect his stories in a book. He welcomed the idea… So with Ramesh’s blessings I began this project … by taping Ramesh recounting some of his favorites… The rest were gleaned from tapes of his seminars … The format I have chosen is to lightly edit an introductory talk that Ramesh gave at … seminars in 1999. This talk lays out Ramesh’s basic concepts…”
In Ramesh’s first talk, he states, “There is a truth which no one can deny, and that is the impersonal awareness of existence… That impersonal awareness of existence is in every human being … An atheist may deny that God exists, but he cannot deny that he exists. This impersonal awareness of existence, ‘I am,’ is the only Truth…Any spiritual concept which does not refer to life as we know it will not be much good. So my first concept ‘I Am’ is the only truth, and ‘I Am’ is life as we know it, or the functioning of manifestation. The second basic concept is that the human being is just one species of objects along with thousands of species of objects in land, air, and water, which together constitute the totality of manifestation. The human being is basically an object, according to my concept, a uniquely programmed object… the unique DNA plus the environmental conditions is the programming in that object.” (Pg. 2)
He continues, “This spiritual seeking is an extraordinarily unique seeking. In ordinary seeking in phenomenality, the seeking stops only when the seeker finds the object he is seeking---when he gets what he wants. In the spiritual seeking, the seeking stops the moment the seeker truly understands what it is he is seeking… What does the spiritual seeker really want? He doesn’t know…” (Pg. 3)
He goes on, “In the spiritual seeking there are basically three kinds of processes. One is known as bhakti or devotion, and the second is known as jnana or knowledge. There is a third one, called karma, which is selfless action… If someone who has been programmed for bhakti is told about jnana, and circumstances force him to take the path of jnana, there will be conflict. If conflict happens, it could not have happened unless it was the will of God. Likewise, if the seeking takes the particular path for which that particular body-mind organism has been programmed, it is the will of God. In other words, the basic concept I have is contained in four simple words: Thy will be don. That is, nothing can happen unless it is the will of God.” (Pg. 5)
He adds, “The seeking stops when the ego realizes what it is that it has been seeking. What is it e4xactly that the ego has been seeking and the ego has to know? ‘Thy will be done,’ meaning the individual free will does not prevail. So the final thing that the ego has to accept is that it is Consciousness that functions through every human body/mind organism, producing actions at that moment strictly according to the will of God, based on the programming in each human object. That is my basic concept.” (Pg. 6-7)
He concludes the talk, “So what is the input which the Source of God puts in? A thought comes to a human being. He is so used to saying the word ‘my’ that he says, ‘It is my thought.’ The thought (or something seen or heard or tasted or smelled or touched) is the Divine input. The human being has no control over what is seen or heard, ow what thought is going to come next. That is the input. The brain reacts to that input strictly according to the programming, and the output that comes out is what the human being says is ‘my’ action, or ‘my’ reaction. The same even is seen by three different people with three different programs… the output could be anger in one case, compassion in the other case, or fear in the third case. The same three reactions would have happened even in the case of three sages, because even in the case of a sage, the body/mind remains with more or less the same programming.” (Pg. 7)
This book may appeal to those studying Eastern thought.
March 13, 2021
Fantastic and clear book, read in one go within 20 hours, including one night. Beautiful short stories that clarify what it is about in terms of self-knowledge. It helps when you are already somewhat aware of this knowledge and to know that if something is touched, it is the ego, not the real self. 😇
May 29, 2012
I didn't like this book. I found some of the anecdotes dated and sexist, almost offensively so (and I'm not easily offended by such things). I had a had time finishing the book.
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