Swami Hans Raj Maharaj
“If you have extreme desire to realise, your guru will come.”
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Swami Hans Raj Maharaj Interview by John David
Self-Knowledge and Spiritual Awakening
– John David
Questions and Answers
Sri Ramana proposed the fundamental question, ‘Who am I?’* Who are you?
Many Western seekers come to India looking for enlightenment as if it is an experience. What is enlightenment?
Are there any qualifications for enlightenment? Is sadhana (spiritual practice) necessary? If yes, what form do you advise?
Sri Ramana said that Self-enquiry is the most direct route to realising the Self. What do you say about Self-enquiry? How to conduct Self-enquiry?
When Sri Ramana was asked, ‘When will the realisation of the Self be gained?’ he replied, ‘When the world which is what-is-seen has been removed, there will be realisation of the Self which is the seer.’* What is the true understanding of the world? How to remove the world?
It has been suggested that the mind must be destroyed for liberation to occur. Do you have a mind? Sri Ramana used the term manonasha to describe the state of liberation, meaning destroyed mind. How to destroy the mind?
What about vasanas, the tendencies of the mind? Must these be removed before Self-realisation can become permanent? Is it enough to achieve asattvic (calm and peaceful) state of mind and to know one’s vasanas so that they no longer bind? How to remove the vasanas?
At the end of his book, Self-Enquiry, Sri Ramana says, ‘He who is thus endowed with a mind that has become subtle, and who has the experience of the Self is called a jivanmukta.’ Is this the state that can be called Self- realised?
He goes on, ‘And when one is immersed in the ocean of bliss and has become one with it without any differentiated existence, one is called a videhamukta. It is the state of videhamukti that is referred to as the transcendent turiya (state). This is the final goal.’ Is this the state that can be called enlightenment?
It appears essential to meet a guru and stay with that guru. Who is the guru? What is the guru’s role? How to recognise a true guru?
Seekers often have curious ideas about the enlightened state. Please describe your typical day and how you perceive the world.
You have given us a profound discourse on awakening. When you meet a passion for awakening, what would your short advice be?
Swami Hans Raj Maharaj´s teachings
Universal Spirituality
Sri Hans Raj Maharaj teaches that spirituality is not limited to any country, religion, or tradition. Whether one follows Christ, Mohammed, Ram, Krishna, or another path, the essence is the same: God is One.
Love and Peace
His central message is spirituality, which he describes as peace. True love does not belong to the mind or thoughts, but arises from the heart. This love is universal and belongs to all beings.
The Need for a Guru
A central point in Maharajji’s teaching is the importance of the Guru. He says that the ego cannot be removed by personal effort alone. Through the grace and help of the Guru, the heart is opened and realisation becomes possible.
Inner Purification
Maharajji directs seekers to look within themselves rather than judging or looking at others. The inner ego must be purified, and this purification happens through surrender, grace, and sincere spiritual longing.
Intense Longing for Realisation
He teaches that only when there is an extreme desire for realisation will the Guru appear. This deep inner demand draws the seeker toward the Guru, just as dirty water must flow into the Ganges to be purified.
Many Paths, One Goal
Different people may follow different practices: meditation, pranayama, yoga, devotional singing, or other forms of sadhana. But the ultimate goal of all true spiritual practice is the same: realisation, peace, love, and union with God.
Heart Opening
For Maharajji, the opening of the heart is essential. When the Guru opens the heart, the seeker discovers universal love, beyond nationality, religion, and personal identity.
appears in
Blueprints for Awakening – Indian Masters
Indian Spiritual Masters
John David has been interviewing sixteen important Indian Spiritual Masters. The result is a compendium of astonishing wisdom about the biggest secret of all times: the Nature of our True Self and how to realise it.
This boock answers all questions of the spiritual search and is for everyone who has an inner passion to find out who they are.
Published in two volumes.
Radha Ma is part of Volume I.
Other Ramana Maharshi Books
Aham Sphurana – A Glimpse of Self Realisation [Volume 1]
Fascinating dialogues and stories of Ramana Maharshi recorded by Sri Gajapathi Aiyyer in the summer 1936, at Ramana Ashram.
Vichara – Self Enquiry,
Who am I? [Volume 2]
Vichara offers a fresh and focused exploration of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi’s most profound teaching: Self-enquiry.
Sharanagathi – Surrender,
Letting go. [Volume 3]
Sharanagathi explores Bhagavan’s direct and powerful path of dissolving the ego through surrender.
Biography
You try to purify yourself by
the grace of guru but you
can’t purify yourself; you have
to take help from a guru.
If you have the utmost demand
for realisation you will get a
guru. Until you have extreme
demand for realisation you will
not get a guru.
– Hans Raj Maharaj
