Cry of the Destitute

One day when I was sitting by the side of Bhagavan I felt so miserable that I put the following question to him: 'Is the sankalpa of the jnani not capable of warding off the destinies of the devotees?'. Bhagavan smiled and said: 'Does the jnani have a sankalpa at all? The jivanmukta can have no sankalpas whatsoever. It is just impossible.'

I continued: "Then what is the fate of all us who pray to you to have grace on us and save us? Will we not be benefited or saved by sitting in front of you, or by coming to you? What use is there then for family men like me to gain by coming here to you?".

Bhagavan turned graciously to me and said: "Just as a trouble (or arrow) that comes to destroy the head, goes away carrying with it only the turban, so a person's bad karma will be considerably reduced while he is in the presence of a jnani. A jnani has no sankalpas but his sannidhi [presence] is the most powerful force. He need not have sankalpa, but his presiding presence, the most powerful force, can do wonders: save souls, give peace of mind, even give liberation to ripe souls. Your prayers are not answered by him but absorbed by his presence. His presence saves you, wards off the karma and gives you the boons as the case may be, [but] involuntarily. The jnani does save the devotees, but not by sankalpa, which is non-existent in him, only through his presiding presence, his sannidhi."p>

I was filled with joy. Even today His presence is the most powerful thing and that alone, I am confident, saves me!

– The Mountain Path Journal, Jul 1968, pg.236;
Nov 2008, pg.3