Tuesday, November 25, 2008

Eckhart Tolle via Ramana and Krishnamurti

And there were other teachers who were just as meaningful whom I never met in person that I feel a very strong connection to. One is [J.] Krishnamurti, and another is Ramana Maharshi. I feel a deep link. And I feel actually that the work I do is a coming together of the teaching "stream," if you want to call it that, of Krishnamurti and Ramana Maharshi. They seem very, very dissimilar, but I feel that in my teaching the two merge into one. It is the heart of Ramana Maharshi, and Krishnamurti's ability to see the false, as such and point out how it works. So Krishnamurti and Ramana Maharshi, I love them deeply. I feel completely at One with them. And it is a continuation of the teaching.

~Eckhart Tolle in an Interview from a book called 'Dialogues With Emerging Spiritual Teachers' by John W. Parker

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Here at chennai, many of my friends find that the message of JK and Ramana are more or less similar. But differences arise in the minds of the staunch followers: those of Ramana baulk at JK's statement that you don't need a guru, and his condemnation of tradition, and the followers of JK can't accept that this world is an illusion, and think Ramana is too traditional, so he has not stepped outside the stream of consciousness and so on.

Anonymous said...

I have been in both the places,namely at the Ramanashramam and at Vasant Vihar several times before in their retreats and special meetings and have confronted these questions and differences between the two. However,I should like to ask Eckhart Tolle: Can you conceive of any method,path,technique,or whichever other words one might find,without involving"unconditional surrender"?
Many people seem to think that Sri Ramana or J.K.for that matter advocate self inquiry which is a purely logical progression ... In my view that is only scratching the surface...

son rivers said...

1. I think Krishnamurti and Ramana are more alike than different, although I agree with Tolle's mind and heart dichotomy. Although Ramana would use tradition with those who were located in tradition, his greater teachings appear to go beyond tradition. And Krishnamurti may not have believed in gurus per se, but he recognized the truth was not just intellectual.

2. It would seem to be that all true paths require unconditional surrender of the ego. Otherwise, the false self remains in complete control

Anonymous said...

"Many people seem to think that Sri Ramana or J.K.for that matter advocate self inquiry which is a purely logical progression ... In my view that is only scratching the surface..."
"It would seem to be that all true paths require unconditional surrender of the ego. Otherwise, the false self remains in complete control"

I am inclined to agree with both these observations. JK and Ramana were pointing out to a place where there are no words, and a state of mind where there is no dualistic/ fragmented activity.

Even their key terms are the same: the Tamil Ulladhu of Ramana means JK's 'what is' in English.

Ramana wrote, 'ullapadi ullalae ullal unarvayae': Be with what is. Such is true enquiry.

I don't think it gets any closer than this.