Two conversations with Swami Venkatesananda
Dialogue 1
Can another dispel the darkness in oneself?
Dialogue 1 Saanen
July 25, 1969
Q: What is the role of a guru? The word ‘guru’ in the classical sense means the dispeller of darkness and ignorance. Can another help to dispel the darkness in oneself? He can only point out, ‘You are the door through which you yourself have to go.’ Should a teacher lay down what is right conduct? This means they have set the pattern and are conditioning. How do I know if a teacher is right? Why should I accept a teacher?
Dialogue 2
Can one experience the infinite?
Dialogue 2 Gstaad
July 26, 1969
Why do we always attach ourselves to something which we suppose to be the highest? We use the word ‘experience’ very easily. Can we experience the feeling of supreme ecstasy? Can we experience the infinite? Can the mind which is conditioned, prejudiced and frightened experience the highest? When fear and conditioning cease, is there experiencing of the highest at all? If the entity which is fear and anxiety has dissolved its fear, what is there to experience? What is the purpose of experience? Is there the need of experience at all? Being in a state in which there is no peace, we want to experience a state of absolute, permanent, eternal peace. If the mind can free itself from agony then what is the need to ask for an experience of the supreme?