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'' (l ...

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 nondiffer ...

teaching, particularly the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and

Wei Wu Wei Terence James Stannus Gray (14 September 1895 – 5 January 1986), was a theatre producer who created the Cambridge Festival Theatre as an experimental theatre in Cambridge. He produced over 100 plays there between 1926 and 1933. Later in l ...

. He wrote more than 20 books, was president of the

Bank of India Bank of India (BOI) is an Indian public sector bank headquartered in Bandra Kurla Complex, Mumbai. Founded in 1906, it has been government-owned since nationalisation in 1969. BoI is a founder member of SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Inter ...

, and received guests daily in his home in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

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

Brahman In Hinduism, ''Brahman'' ( sa, ब्रह्मन्) connotes the highest universal principle, the ultimate reality in the universe.P. T. Raju (2006), ''Idealistic Thought of India'', Routledge, , page 426 and Conclusion chapter part X ...

, 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 tha ...

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 Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to ac ...

is in fact an

illusion An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may oc ...

. 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, t ...

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 Chögyam Trungpa ( Wylie: ''Chos rgyam Drung pa''; March 5, 1939 – April 4, 1987) was a Tibetan Buddhist meditation master and holder of both the Kagyu and Nyingma lineages of Tibetan Buddhism, the 11th of the Trungpa tülkus, a tertön, sup ...

, 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 The Ashtavakra Gita (Sanskrit: अष्टावक्रगीता; IAST: aṣṭāvakragītā) or Song of Ashtavakra is a classical text in the Advaita Vedanta tradition in the form of a dialogue between the sage Ashtavakra and Janaka, king ...

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