Questioner: I want Bhagavan to bestow his compassionate glance of Grace on me, so that I should undergo Emancipation in this very lifetime.

Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi: Listen to the following joke:

Once upon a time man was fully aware of his Realised nature, and all humans enjoyed Transcendental consciousness while yet in a body; but on one fine morning, Brahma found he had become jealous of them, since all humans were then equal to him in rank, all being Realised gods. So, Brahma decided to take Self-knowledge away from man and hide it where it could never be found by him. Where to hide It was the question. So Brahma called a council of the gods of Heaven, headed by Indra, to help him resolve the matter.

“Let us bury it deep in the earth,” said the gods. But Brahma answered, “No, that will not do, because men will dig into the earth and find it.”

Then the gods said, “Let us sink it in the deepest ocean.” But Brahma said, “No, not there, for they will eventually learn to dive into the ocean, and so will surely find it one day.”

Then the gods said, “Let us take it to the top of the highest mountain and hide it there.” But again Brahma replied, “No, that will not do either, because they will sooner or later climb every mountain and once again find their Immortal Self.

We must hide It so thoroughly from man that he will never succeed in finding It again.” Then the gods gave up and said, “We do not know where to hide it, because it seems that there is no place on earth or under the sea that man will not eventually reach.”

Brahma thought for a long, long, long time. Finally he said, “Here is what we shall do. We will hide It deep in the center of their own being, for men will never think to look for It there.” All the gods agreed that this, in fact, was the perfect hiding place, and the deed was done. Ever since that day, men have been going up and down the earth, digging, diving, climbing, and excavating- searching for something which is already within themselves.

Q.: How cruel of Brahma to do such a thing…!

B.: That was only a joke. The point is, turn inwards and SEE. That is Guru’s Grace. Guru’s Grace means inward-vision or introverted mind. Guru’s Grace and Jnana-dhrishti [Tom: literally knowledge-vision, ie. vision of self-knowledge or experience of self-knowledge] are thus one and the same.

The above excerpt is taken from Aham Sphurana, 30th August 1936, see here for more information on this text.