Today’s lesson is good news. It’s just as Jesus said, “Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7)
It is popular today to say that seeking is the problem; one is already awake & needs only to let go of seeking. To me, that is kind of like saying, “You know the door opens, so why knock?”
Ramana Maharshi agreed that you are aware of the Self now, but notice what he says about it:
“Your Self is intimate to you. You are aware of the Self. Seek it and be it. That will expand as the Infinite.”
At Luke 15 in the Bible, Jesus gave this example: “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?”
Having 10 silver coins could represent having some awareness of the Self, but is it full awareness of the infinite?
Let’s look at some of Jesus’ other symbols:
Light a lamp = bringing awareness & purpose together
Sweep the house = inquiry & forgiveness
Search carefully = awareness watching awareness
It is very good news that “no one can fail who seeks to reach the truth,” but the key in that sentence is that it is the one who seeks that finds. When one is tempted to listen to recommendations to drop seeking, it might be helpful to ask, “How does not seeking serve the ego?”
Based on Jesus’ example of the woman with the lost coin, it seems that Jesus recommends determined seeking. That reminds me of a quote from Nisargadatta Maharaj:
“We discover it by being earnest, by searching, inquiring, questioning daily and hourly, by giving one’s life to this discovery.”
