Is Word the Ultimate?
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February 10, 2011
Yogi Ramsurat Kumar, the great saint of Tiruvannamalai who was one of my childhood mentors, had a habit of continuously chanting Ram naam, the sacred name of Lord Rama. He was initiated into the mantra Ram naam. Continuously he would chant Ram naam, and whoever comes, he would tell them, ‘Ram naam is the ultimate. Chant the naam, chant the naam, nothing else exists except the name.
One day, after they all left, I was sitting alone with him. I looked into his eyes and asked, ‘Swamiji, tell me honestly, is Word the ultimate?’ He turned away from my eyes. Actually, I still remember how he just slapped my face lightly, turned my face away, and started smoking again!
Of course, I did not leave him
alone! He used to always have
with him a rope made out of
coconut fiber in his hands. I
pulled that rope to turn his face
towards me, and looked deep
into his eyes and asked, 'I really
want to know. Is Word the
ultimate, is Sound the ultimate?'
He just looked into my eyes and
shook his head horizontally and
said, 'No. There is something
beyond Word.'
I just could not control myself,
because this happened just a few
months after my enlightenment
experience, and in my enlightenment experience, there was no word. I could not control myself; I just jumped and shouted with joy and ecstasy that I had found the truth: I know the truth: I know, I know, I know! It is beyond words!
There is an Upanishad sutra also which says, beyond the vak and mind, this truth is experienced. Vak and mind cannot reach that space. Words and vak have only a limited capacity. They can reach only to a limited level. It cannot be the ultimate, and if you believe that it is the ultimate, you are waiting for a big and great disappointment. If you think mind is everything, you are waiting for a deep depression and disappointment and unfulfillment.
I tell you, when this truth is heard in such a close space from a person whom you trust, and who has no vested interest, something happens in you!