Ramesh S. Balsekar (25 May 1917 – 27 September 2009) was a disciple and principle translator of the late Sri

Nisargadatta Maharaj Nisargadatta Maharaj (born Maruti Shivrampant Kambli; 17 April 1897 – 8 September 1981) was an Indian guru of nondualism, belonging to the Inchagiri Sampradaya, a lineage of teachers from the Navnath Sampradaya and Lingayat Shaivism. ...

, a renowned

Advaita ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' ( ...

master. From early childhood, Balsekar was drawn to Advaita, a

nondual Nondualism, also called nonduality and nondual awareness, is a fuzzy concept originating in Indian philosophy and religion for which many definitions can be found, including: nondual awareness, the nonduality of seer and seen or nondif ...

teaching, particularly the teachings of

Ramana Maharshi Ramana Maharshi (; 30 December 1879 – 14 April 1950) was an Indian Hindu sage and ''jivanmukta'' (liberated being). He was born Venkataraman Iyer, but is mostly known by the name Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi. He was born in Tiruchuli, Ta ...

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 Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the secon ...

until shortly before his death in 2009.

Teachings

Balsekar taught from the tradition of

Advaita Vedanta ''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' ( ...

nondualism Nondualism, also called nonduality and nondual awareness, is a fuzzy concept originating in Indian philosophy and Eastern religions, religion for which many definitions can be found, including: nondual awareness, the nonduality of seer an ...

. His teaching begins with the idea of an ultimate Source, Brahman, from which

creation Creation may refer to: Religion *'' Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing *Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it *Creationism, the belief that ...

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 predetermined (“ God’s Will Be Done” ) as in a film The Source had written the script , directs it and plays all the parts and props. “There is nothing second to the Source”. Every human is a three dimensional object through which the Source or consciousness acts to bring about outcomes so that what has to happen can happen. There is no individual doer of any actions but each individual body mind organism acts and is driven by its genetic makeup and conditioning both of which are not in control of the individual. Ramesh often quoted the Buddha ….”Events happen,deeds are done but there is no individual doer thereof”. The manifestation came about when potential energy activated itself. If it was not potential energy then it would have dead energy and unable to activate is potential. this activation is what modern scientists call the Big Bang. Like other

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, ...

teachers, Balsekar says that while creation and creator appear to be different and separate, that they are actually two sides of the same coin. He taught that life is a happening but there is no individual doer of life. Among his most notable students are Dorje Khandro, a former disciple of Chögyam Trungpa, Gautam Sachdeva and Roger Castillo.

Books

*''Confusion No More'' (2007), *''The Ultimate Understanding '' (2002), *''Who Cares?! The Unique Teaching of Ramesh S. Balsekar'' (1999), *''Consciousness Speaks: Conversations with Ramesh S. Balsekar'' (1993), *''Duet of One: The Ashtavakra Gita Dialogue'' (1989),

References

External links

Ramesh Balsekar's web site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balsekar, Ramesh 1917 births Advaitin philosophers Indian Hindu spiritual teachers 2009 deaths

Teachings

Books

See also

References

External links