Final Question 8

Flynn takes the blame for everything he does, he knows he’s a New Guinean bastard. He just does it. He acts on his impulses. He does what pleases him. He doesn’t bother or waste time beating around the bush. He’s very straight forward. And by what he’s written, he seems very honest. Even when he slept with other guy’s women, he would admit blame and stand his ground. He wouldn’t pull some, “its not what it looks like” bullshit. He took nature for granted once on a boating trip, which kicked his butt because of a storm. He enjoyed real, raw beauty in nature. He built his house Jamaica. He really enjoyed the outdoors. He went through the jungles in Africa and really had a respect for nature. He saw it for what it was and didn’t really look at the spiritual side of nature. Same with women, they were beautiful things to him.


From what I grasped from reading about Ramana Maharshi, he was a hypocrite. So he lead a life of lies. He lied to his family when he left home, and he never really stopped contradicting himself. To me, this would make him a very dishonest man. He once said “whatever teasing or annoyances there was, I would put up with it quietly.” But this was not the case when the other guru on the mountain was throwing rocks in order “to kill Sri Bhagavan or frighten him away from the hill”, and Ramana “knew well what was happening and on one occasion he quickly and silently climbed the hill and caught the old man in the act.” If he claimed he was so peaceful and submissive, why did he bother to challenge this other guru? (64)

On another instance, one of his early devotees, Mudaliar who had “[an] eagerness and desire to make every effort drove [him] to the idea of renouncing home life and going forth as a penniless wanderer. As in other cases, Sri Bhagavan discouraged this” (93). Maharshi tells him not to and that the road is too difficult for him. While Sri Bhagavan had himself left home and everything behind to follow his believes, contradicting his actions and his teachings.

Throughout the entire book it seemed as though Maharshi was speaking what was supposed to be heard or what was wanted to be heard by his followers. If he was speaking from the heart, or if he was trying to speak the truth, he wasn’t following his words as he should have.