OM NAMO BHAGAVATE SRI RAMANAYA

The answer is contained in the question itself, for the answer is always the ever-existing Self and the question is only a modulation of it." This remarkable saying of Sri Bhagavan finds an apt illustration in the following instance.

One of our old devotees, the late Sri. A. Bose, lost his only son, a bright boy of twenty. Upset very much by this loss he had a private interview with Bhagavan, which was arranged during His resting time between twelve and two in the afternoon. At one stage in the interview he asked Bhagavan in what appeared a challenging mood, "What is God?". For such a long-standing devotee, the question seemed incongruous!

Bhagavan kept silent for a while and then gently said, "Your question itself contains the answer: What is, (is) God." This illuminating answer was amazingly the question itself!

One should note here that it is not merely a clever or well thought-out answer. That may be so in the case of ordinary men. A Jnani’s utterances are free from the intermediary action of the mind, which colors and often distorts the truth. In the case of the seers, it is said ‘sense follows speech.’ Also, Bhagavan’s silence before answering the question was evidently meant to prepare the questioner to receive the full impact of the answer.


This is from THE MAHARSHI News Letter