After people have an initial awakening,
or perhaps a couple, the urge to help others do the same often
arises. I've had this urge myself but have had to look at the root of
it: the ultimate belief that still exists in separation.
Here is what Nisargadatta says:
“There are no others to help. A rich
man, when he hands over his entire fortune to his family, has not a
coin left to give a beggar. So is the wise man (gnani) stripped of
all his powers and possessions. Nothing, literally nothing, can be
said about him. He cannot help anybody for he is everybody. He is the
poor and also his poverty, the thief and also his thievery. How can
he be said to help, when he is not apart? Who thinks of himself as
separate from the world, let him help the world.”
Once, walking down a street, I came
upon a beggar. I gave him a coin. “Thank you,” he said, and the
psychological distance between us collapsed. I could not tell if the
“thank you” came from him or from me. I wrote this to my teacher
at the time, and he said, “You are a beggar.” I didn't know how
to interpret that at the time, but now I see the truth of this. The
“helper” was destroyed at that moment.
