Note; The word ‘self’ is used by Sri Ramana Maharishi in the sense of ‘consciousness’ or ‘soul’ and not in the sense of ‘ego’ or ‘body’.
· …..The master (Guru) will say only what I am saying now. He will not give you anything you have not already got. It is impossible for anyone to get what he has not got already. Even if he gets any such thing, it will go as it came. What comes will also go. What always is will alone remain. The master (Guru) cannot give you anything new, which you don't have already. Removal of the notion that we have not realized the Self is all that is required. We are always the Self only we don't realize it.
We go round and round in search of (atma) Self saying, `Where is self (atma?) Where is it? Till at last the dawn of (jnana drishti) vision of knowledge is reached, and we say, `This is self (atma) this is me.' We should acquire that vision. When once that vision is reached, there will be no attachments even if one mixes with the world and moves about in it. When once you put on shoes your feet do not feel the pain of walking on any number of stones or thorns on the way. You walk about without fear or care, even if there are mountains on the way. In the same way, everything will be natural to those who have attained (jnana drishti) vision of knowledge. What is there apart from one's own Self?....
· …..He who instructs an ardent seeker to do this or that is not a true master. The seeker is already afflicted by his activities and wants peace and rest. In other words he wants cessation of his activities. If a teacher tells him to do something in addition to, or in place of, his other activities, can that be a help to the seeker?
Activity is creation. Activity is the destruction of one's inherent happiness. If activity is advocated the adviser is not a master but a killer. In such circumstances either the creator [Brahma] or death [Yama] may be said to have come in the guise of a master. Such a person cannot liberate the aspirant, he can only strengthen his fetters…..
· Liberation is not anywhere outside you. It is only within. If a man is anxious for deliverance, the internal master (Guru) pulls him in and the external master (Guru) pushes him into the Self. This is the grace of the Master (Guru).
· The Master (Guru) does not bring about Self-realization. He simply removes the obstacles to it. The Self is always realized.
· ..The person may call himself my disciple or devotee. I do not consider anyone to be my disciple. I have never sought formal instructions (upadesh) from anyone nor do I give ceremonial instructions (upadesh). If the people call themselves my disciples I do not approve or disapprove. In my view all are alike. They consider themselves fit for being called disciples. What can I say to them? I do not call myself a disciple or a Master (Guru)….
Story
A rabbi spent his whole life teaching that all the answers to our questions are in ourselves, but his congregation insisted on consulting him about everything they did.
One day, the rabbi had an idea. He placed a notice on the door of his house, saying: 'ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS - 100 MOEDAS PER ANSWER.'
A shopkeeper decided to pay the one hundred moedas. He gave the rabbi the money and said: 'Don't you think that's rather a lot to charge for a question?'
'Yes, I do,' said the rabbi. 'And I have just answered your question. If you want to know anything else, you'll have to pay another one hundred moedas, or else look for the answer inside yourself, which is far cheaper and much more efficient.'
From then on, no one bothered him.
Zen story
A disciple who loved and admired his Zen teacher decided to observe his behavior minutely, believing that if he did everything that his teacher did, then he would also acquire his teacher's wisdom. The teacher always wore white, and so his disciple did the same. The teacher was a vegetarian, and so his disciple stopped eating meat and replaced it with a diet of vegetables and herbs. The teacher was an austere man, and so the disciple decided to devote himself to self-sacrifice and started sleeping on a straw mattress.
After some time, the teacher noticed these changes in his disciple's behavior and asked him why.
'I am climbing the steps of initiation,' came the reply.
'The white of my clothes shows the simplicity of my search, the vegetarian food purifies my body, and the lack of comfort makes me think only of spiritual things.'
Smiling, the teacher took him to a field where a horse was grazing.
'You have spent all this time looking outside yourself, which is what matters least,' he said. 'Do you see that creature there? He has white skin, eats only grass and sleeps in a stable on a straw bed. Do you think he has the face of a saint or will one day become a real teacher?'.
“Seek the seeker”
Reference;
1. Be as you are – Ramana Maharishi.
2. Talks with Sri Ramana Maharishi complete.
3. http://sriramanamaharshi.org/
4. http://www.in5d.com/spiritual-enlightenment-stories.html